


Playing With Fire

by chains_archivist



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Boys in Chains, Lots of Sex, M/M, Prison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-16 00:01:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3466949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chains_archivist/pseuds/chains_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>by RazorQueen </p><p>Duo volunteers for a mission to prove himself, but Heero follows to keep him out of trouble. Unfortunately, trouble seems to follow Duo--right into Treize's bed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Dusk, the archivist: this work was originally archived at [Boys in Chains](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Boys_in_Chains), which opened in 2000 as a multifandom archive for both fiction and art, but then sadly went offline in 2005. To bring the archive back, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in December 2014. Open Doors [posted an announcement](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/1832) and e-mailed all creators about the move, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this author, please [contact the Open Doors committee](http://transformativeworks.org/contact/open%20doors).

Sleet rattled against cracked windows, cold wind creeping through rattletrap wooden frames. Duo shivered.

"Man, Quatre, this place isn't up to your usual standards." He frowned at the small puffs of white that accompanied his words. Christ, he hated being cold.

A single emergency lantern burned near the fireplace, where Quatre and Trowa attempted to light a fire. Heero had insisted the lantern be kept on the minimum setting. The feeble light caused the four pilots to cast huge, looming shadows that flew like specters at every movement. The room held no usable furniture, although Trowa had thought the broken pieces they'd found might serve as firewood.

"Sorry, Duo." Quatre looked up. "I was kind of rushed to find us a safe place. But don't worry. We'll have it warmer in a minute."

Duo looked around the "safehouse," a word that he thought was overly generous. The place had looked uninviting from the outside, and inside was even worse than he'd imagined. Animals had apparently nested here, judging by their spoor. The ceiling sagged from water damage. The ancient paper on the walls hung in loose strips, peeling from the damp. And dirty...Duo hadn't stayed in a place this filthy since...well, in a long time.

Trowa scraped wet ashes from the gaping black mouth of the fireplace. The dank odor made Duo want to vomit. Or cry. Or both. But he was the joker of the group, he reminded himself. And jokers didn't go to pieces just because they're cold and hungry, hiding from soldiers in a house that smelled like death.

Duo pasted on a grin and tossed back his braided hair. He sauntered to Heero, who stood at the rickety window, watching the darkness. "C'mon, you could warm me up if you tried." He tried to nip at the somber pilot's neck, but Heero shoved him back.

"Duo." Heero snapped his name like an order.

"Yeah?" With half-closed his eyes, Duo tilted his head, a little smile quirking his lips. His hands rested on his slender hips. That pose worked without fail on any other human, male or female.

On Heero, it was wasted. The Japanese pilot continued to stare into the winter storm.

"Shut up."

Duo let the little smile morph into a pout, hunkering conspicuously on the bare wooden steps that led upstairs. Theatrically, he heaved a sigh and planted his elbows on his knees, chin on the heels of his palms. No one noticed. Heero still gazed into the darkness, watching for any sign that they'd been tracked by OZ soldiers. Quatre and Trowa nursed the tiny flames they'd finally started, Quatre's silver-blond head resting against his lover's shoulder. Duo's pretty pout slipped slightly as he rubbed his burning eyes. He felt something twist inside him, like a spring winding. If he had to sit still any longer, he thought he'd go crazy.

Bounding off the stairs, he lost his balance. Grasping for the wooden stair rail, he tried to catch himself, but the rotting wood gave way, and he crashed to the floor.

Trowa started at the noise, his hand twitching toward his gun. Quatre jumped up and rushed to help Duo, who sprawled gracelessly on the dusty floor.

"You OK?" Quatre asked as he hauled Duo to his feet, brushing off his friend's clothes. "Be careful. This place has been abandoned for years. No telling what kind of shape it's in."

"Yeah, nothing hurt but my dignity." Duo noticed he'd finally gotten Heero to look at him. He rubbed the curve of his backside seductively. "And my ass."

Heero's eyes narrowed. Duo felt a chill run through him, as if the door had suddenly blown open and let in the icy wind.

"Goddamn it, Maxwell, do you always have to be the center of attention?"

"Hey, it's not like I fell on purpose!"

"Whatever." Heero turned away.

Duo felt the eyes of the other two pilots and he struggled to regain his careless mask. "What's his problem?"

Heero pivoted slowly. His eyes glittered in the half-light, and Duo thought crazily that must be the look Heero's victims saw before he cut them down. "There's only one problem here."

"W-what do you mean?" Duo asked, shaken.

"You. You're the problem."

Trowa stood, poised as if he were ready to leap between the two pilots, his gaze flicking from one to the other. "Heero..."

"His carelessness ruined this mission. We're lucky we got away in time, but we barely made it. And it's his fault. If he'd think with his head instead of his dick, we'd all be better off."

Duo cringed at the disgust in Heero's voice. But he didn't defend himself. He couldn't. Heero was right.

Trowa and Quatre exchanged the briefest of glances. In response to some unspoken agreement, Quatre stepped forward. "Look, it's been a tough day. We're all on edge. Let's get some sleep. This storm will keep any OZ troops from following us, at least for tonight."

Heero made a noise that might have meant acquiescence and began spreading a blanket on the floor of the empty room. He didn't speak to Duo again, didn't look at him. It was as though his partner had ceased to exist.

Duo began to tremble. Quatre, who still stood next to him, noticed and put his hand on the shivering boy's arm.

"C'mon, get your blanket. It's warmer near the fire." Quatre lowered his voice. "Don't listen to him. You know what he's like when a mission doesn't go exactly the way he planned. It wasn't your fault. It could have happened to any of us."

Duo nodded, too miserable to speak. Quatre, the peacemaker, the fixer. Always trying to make everything right. But he couldn't fix this. He couldn't change the truth.

*************

Duo huddled under his blanket in the meager warmth of the fire. He tried to convince himself that the tightness in his belly was because of the cold and because he hadn't eaten in almost a day.

Trowa and Quatre slept, their bodies spooned against each other. That hurt, the closeness of his two friends. He didn't begrudge them their bond, but Christ, he wanted that for himself. He wanted it so badly he'd thrown himself at Heero for weeks. He'd tried everything, every trick he'd ever learned, every look, every pose. But nothing melted the Perfect Soldier's ice.

Trowa mumbled in his sleep, and Quatre snuggled closer to him. The dark-haired pilot nuzzled against the platinum head cradled in his arms. Duo watched them, aching for the feel of someone's lips against his hair like that.

He squeezed his eyes shut, but the tears came anyway. Boys don't cry, he told himself angrily. It was just this place getting to him, the cold and the smell of ashes. He couldn't stand that smell. It was Heero being mad at him, and Trowa and Quatre cuddling, and OZ chasing them. A small, hicoughing sob escaped him. Flopping onto his belly, he jammed his fist against his mouth. Damn it all, had he even forgotten how to cry without making noise?

"Maxwell," a voice rumbled from across the room. "Don't you ever shut up?"

"H-Heero?" Duo swallowed, praying the other pilot didn't understand the catch in his voice. "I didn't say anything."

"No? I could've sworn...but maybe not." Duo heard Heero roll over, turning his back again. Clearly annoyed, he growled, "Go to sleep, baka."

Duo hunched his shoulders farther under the blanket, wondering why the room felt colder.

*************

"Two days. Where the hell is Wufei?" Heero prowled the bare rooms of the ancient farmhouse like a caged wildcat. During the first night, the sleet had changed to heavy snow, piling into endless white drifts that held them prisoner. Duo thought that at least they could have some fun with the snow, but Heero vetoed the idea. Any tracks, he said, might show from the air, not to mention that outside, they'd be plain targets for any infra-red scopes.

"The snow has probably slowed him down," Quatre said. "He'll be here. Has he ever failed to come through for us?"

"No." Heero flicked the barest of glances at Duo, who sat cross-legged in front of the fire playing tic-tac-toe in the dust with Trowa. "He knows where his duty is."

Duo stiffened at the slight emphasis in Heero's voice and the unspoken comparison. After his suggestion that they have a snowball fight got him a harsh lecture, Duo had tried to stay away from the Japanese boy entirely, a nearly impossible task in the confined space. But he couldn't take it any more. Shaking off Trowa's restraining hand, he stood up and faced the dark-haired pilot.

"Look, I'm a fuck-up. You're right. I screwed the pooch. It's my fault we're stuck here in this shit-hole in a blizzard. But I'm fucking tired of your attitude. You wanna hit me, come on! Here I am, Mr. Perfect Soldier. Take your best shot." Duo clenched his fists, determined not to take the first swing, but equally determined that one shot at him would be all Heero got.

"Guys! This isn't going to get us anywhere!" Quatre scrambled up off the floor. "If we start fighting each other...."

"Shut up, Quatre," Heero snarled. "This isn't about you. It's about me and this baka. Now back off."

Out of the corner of his eye, Duo saw Trowa haul the smaller boy into the other room. Good man, Trowa. He knew the score. Duo shifted his total attention back to Heero-just in time to catch the full force of a fist slamming into his jaw. Pain exploded his vision. He tasted the tang of his own blood. Shit, Duo thought, he really is pissed.

Duo swung, aiming low for Heero's stomach, but his punch never connected. Heero blocked the swing, then launched himself at the other boy. The tackle landed them both on the floor. Duo gasped, the wind knocked out of him by the fall and by Heero's wiry body toppling onto him. He pushed himself away, trying to get enough room to take another swing. But Heero seemed to be always a fraction ahead of his every move. Before Duo realized it, Heero had pinned him, his body flattened against the floor, his arms held over his head. He hadn't known just how strong Heero really was.

Finally able to expend some of his own incessant energy, Duo's rage evaporated. "OK, H - man, you win. You got me. Now how about letting me up?" He looked up at Heero and grinned-until he saw the other pilot's eyes.

Heero had never favored him with a look warmer than ice. But now the dark eyes burned with a flame Duo didn't understand. Uneasy, he squirmed, trying to escape, but the other boy merely tightened his grip.

"Heero? Buddy, you won. Uncle, OK? You can let go now." He waited for sanity to come back to the gaze that bore into his own. But the flame only burned hotter.

"Thought this was what you wanted." Heero smiled, a tight, cruel sneer that seemed to belong on someone else's face. This wasn't the Heero he knew-was it?

Heero's face was so close to his. He felt the other's breath against his cheek. His wrists hurt from the iron fingers digging into them. Duo felt the stirrings of a long-buried fear. "Heero, please let me..." Before he finished his plea, a hard mouth fastened on his, a ravening kiss that weakened him with its assault.

Stupefied by the kiss, Duo missed his opportunity to free his arms as Heero transferred his grip, grasping both wrists with one hand. Heero's other hand tugged at his priest-like collar, pulling it open. He jerked at Duo's white shirt, ripping it aside. Duo heard buttons skitter across the floor. His heart pounded. What the hell was Heero doing? Then he felt fingers brushing across the ridge of his collarbone, down his chest, to the small, hard nub of his nipple. Duo groaned in pleasure and pain as the fingers squeezed roughly.

Heero transferred his mouth from Duo's lips to his neck, following the same path his hand had taken moments ago. When his mouth located the target, teeth nipping sharply, his hand scouted ahead, pushing aside the defenses of Duo's clothing. Ragged nails scraped Duo's skin maddeningly as fingers pressed into his belly with bruising strength.

Duo writhed under that hand, though there was nothing gentle in its touch. He wanted it, he wanted it...but somewhere in the depths of his mind, a small, frightened voice began to keen.

Heero tugged at the zipper of Duo's pants, jerked them down over his slim hips. Duo moaned as that rough hand stroked him to hardness. "Oh God, Heero..."

Heero's callused hand moved faster, every stroke excruciating ecstasy. "Yeah, I knew this was what you wanted. Wanted it so bad you went looking for it on the street. Led OZ right to our door." He slid his hand roughly between Duo's legs, forcing his fingers between the tight, muscled mounds of his buttocks, searching mercilessly for the opening there.

Heero's words penetrated the haze that had dulled Duo's mind. The fingers pushing at his entrance dispelled the comfortable fog entirely. "No," he moaned, "it wasn't like that..."

The voice in his mind began to whimper. He didn't want this, this was ugly, dirty, this hurt, he didn't want this, not ever again...

Duo erupted into a frenzied struggle. He twisted his arms, but Heero's grip was impossibly strong. "Heero, stop it! Let me go, goddamn it!" His straining only seemed to inflame the other pilot. Brutal fingers thrust inside him, stretching him without giving him a chance to be ready. Duo cried out, a sharp childish sound that he heard as if from a distance. He couldn't speak anymore, couldn't fight. The terrified boy he thought he'd banished had possession now. He could do nothing but lie helpless, silently sobbing.

"Yuy, get off him or I'll kill you."

Duo opened his eyes, looked through strands of hair damp with sweat and tears to see Trowa, a gun pointed squarely at Heero's back.

Heero looked over his shoulder and laughed. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Something in Trowa's voice must have warned the Japanese pilot. Duo felt him pull away. Not brave enough to face the contempt he knew would be in Heero's face, he curled up on his side, eyes closed. A hand gently brushed aside his hair, and he almost screamed.

"Shhhh. Duo?"

Duo opened his eyes, as ashamed of the tears that flooded from them as he was of his nakedness. Trowa leaned over him, his expression surprisingly kind.

"It's all right. He's gone." Trowa slid an arm under Duo's shoulders and helped him to sit. "It's OK. Take a deep breath."

Somehow in his struggles, Duo's hair had fallen out of its braid. He pushed it back with a shaking hand, then dragged a sleeve across his wet cheeks. His clothes had gotten covered with ashes, and black streaks smeared across his face, but he barely noticed. Unsteady, he got to his knees, zipped his trousers with shaking hands, trying desperately not to think.

"Duo, Wufei is here," Trowa said quietly. "We can go now."

"G-good." Duo gripped Trowa's hand as the other boy lifted him to his feet. Trowa didn't seem to mind that he held on a little longer and a little tighter than was necessary. "I-I think I need a shower." He blushed. It was a stupid thing to say, given the circumstances.

"Yes. You do." Trowa smiled at him.

Reluctantly, he let go of his friend's hand. "Trowa?"

"What?"

"Would you really have killed Heero?"

Trowa looked at the gun in his hand. "Actually, Quatre made me set it on stun." Then he lifted his head, gazing deeply into Duo's eyes, past the joker's mask. When he spoke, Duo sensed it was as much to the terrified child who still hid inside him as it was to the smart-ass Gundam pilot. "But yes, I'd have shot him if he hadn't left you alone."

"Why?"

Trowa smoothed back Duo's heavy chestnut mane. "I've been there, Duo." He wiped a left-over tear from his smudged cheek with a long, slim finger. "You know, this is none of my business, but I don't think Heero can give you what you're looking for."

Duo frowned. "What do you mean?" His voice sounded sharper than he meant it to. "What am I looking for?"

"Like I said, I've been there. Be careful. Trying to get a guy like that can be..."

The door slapped open behind them, and Quatre called. "C'mon guys. It's time to go."

Trowa gave Duo one last searching look. "You ready?"

"Yeah." But ready for what? Another mission? What did it matter if he'd messed this one up? There would always be another one, and another one after that. On and on, forever. He felt a thousand years old, and as though he'd been alone every minute of the long centuries. "Let's get out of here."


	2. Chapter 2

Duo paused at the closed bedroom door. From inside the room, he heard the continuous clack of a computer keyboard, as if someone were beating the hell out of it instead of typing. Didn't Heero ever think of anything beside a mission? Trying to convince himself he didn't care, he'd found himself lying awake at night lately listening to that endless pounding.

So why was he standing out here like this, if he didn't care what Heero did, if he didn't care that the other pilot hadn't even talked to him in the two weeks since they'd been stuck in that farmhouse? Not that Duo blamed him. It wasn't Heero's fault he didn't know what the hell he wanted.

Footsteps on the stairs behind him gave him an excuse to continue down the hall to his own room. He paused at that door, too, knocking quietly before entering. Wufei had agreed to having a roommate, although Duo didn't know what Trowa had told him and Wufei never volunteered the information. But Duo still felt like an intruder every time he entered the room.

He peeked around the corner. Even though there was very little in the room to reflect his own boisterous personality, Duo liked it. Wufei's small touches gave the space serenity-a miniature fountain bubbling in a bowl, a few candles, a houseplant, windchimes. At the moment, the candles flickered in the fading light of the late winter afternoon, and the warm odor of perfumed wax invited him in.

At least Wufei wasn't meditating or anything. The Chinese pilot sat at a writing table, a book open before him, clasped hands resting lightly on the edge of the desk. No one could sit as absolutely still as Wufei. "The crane in the lake at sunrise," Wufei had described it in an attempt to teach his new roommate something of stillness. But Duo had never seen a crane, and he said that sunrise was way too early for him to care about some stupid lake. Wufei had given up in exasperation.

"Wu?" Duo slipped into the room. "Wanna go to town or something?" He smiled brightly. "C'mon, I want some company, and I'm so desperate, I'll even take yours."

Wufei looked up from his book. "I doubt if we'll have time."

"Why?" Brushing aside some coins scattered acrosss the desktop, Duo rested his hip on the table, hooked a leg over the corner. "Whatcha doin'? Readin' again?"

He plucked the book out of Wufei's hands, pretended to study the tiny print, fanning through the pages. "No pictures? Don't see why you waste your time on these things." An exaggerated frown puckering his forehead, he turned the book sideways, as if to decipher an ancient code. Flipping the book upside down, he attempted to impress the other boy by reading the inverted words. "'The dangerous height of heaven cannot be ascended; the difficult places of the earth are mountains, hills, and mounds. Kings and princes arrange, by means of such strength, to maintain their territories. Great indeed is the use of what is taught about seasons of peril.'" He snorted. "I don't even know what that means, Wu-man. You are way too deep for me."

Wufei deftly retrieved his book. "It's the Book of Changes." He grunted in annoyance. "You lost my page, Duo."

"Sorry 'bout that." Duo grinned sheepishly. Wufei wasn't much friendlier than Heero sometimes, but he got the feeling that he at least amused the Chinese pilot. All he ever did to Heero was piss him off. "C'mon, forget all this heavy shit and come with me."

He looked at the other pilot through his bangs, clasped his hands in an image of supplication. "Pretty please?"

Duo saw Wufei's expression lighten. He kind of liked being able to make Wu smile, he realized. Or almost smile, anyway.

"I suppose that someone needs to keep you out of trouble."

"Now, that's the spirit, roomie!" Duo rummaged through his closet to find his cap, discovering it under a welter of clothes he'd somehow forgotten to wash. Heero would've given him hell if he'd let dirty laundry pile up like this, he thought, but Wufei said nothing-as long as he kept the closet door shut. Cocking the cap on his head, he kicked the clothes that had fallen out under his bed. "Let's go find some touble for you to keep me out of."

Wufei didn't answer. As Duo whirled to tease him about his silence, his smile died at the sight of Heero in the doorway, face a mask of cold disapproval.

"Wufei, we have a mission." Briefly, Heero's glance slid to Duo. "You, too, Maxwell. If you have the time." Then he was gone.

Duo's stomach twisted with pain. "Bastard," he whispered, his voice husky and choaked.

Wufei paused in the doorway. "Duo?"

"Nothin'. I'm right behind you, Wu-man." Somehow, he managed to get out of the room without putting his fist through the wall.

*************

Heero didn't look up, but he knew the moment Duo entered the room. It felt as though the slight pilot carried an electrical storm with him; the air around him seemed to crackle with his lifeforce. Did he know, Heero wondered, how much all of them fed on that energy? Quatre gave them heart, but Duo's unquenchable joy in living made them forget about the dark void that waited for them.

Heero continued to study the map of the OZ base displayed on the computer screen, but he couldn't quite tear his thoughts away from his former roommate. He knew his coldness wounded Duo and confounded the others, but he dared not risk any response warmer than indifference. Look what had happened the one time he had let himself go.

Accustomed to feeling nothing, he still reeled when he remembered the violence of his emotions those days they'd been trapped by the snow. He had been so angry at Duo-for blowing their cover, yes, but more than that. For the boy's unrelenting pursuit of immediate gratification. Mostly, Heero admitted to himself with brutal honesty, for searching for that gratification with someone other than him. When he'd had Duo's body under his own, all he could think of was making him feel the same pain he'd felt himself.

Heero hated himself for succeeding.

"Heero?" Quatre stood at his elbow. "We're all here now."

Knowing that his face betrayed nothing of his thoughts, Heero adjusted the screen so the others could see and explained their orders with terse efficiency.

When he finished, the other four pilots sat stunned.

"It isn't possible." Trowa gave voice to what all of them must be thinking. "Not even a Gundam could get in there."

Wufei nodded agreement. "A fortress inside a mountain. It's excellent strategy, worthy of someone like Treize Kushrenada."

"You're right, Trowa," Heero said. "A Gundam can't get in there. Nor can a team. But one of us might."

"Huh," Duo snorted. "Getting in's no problem. Getting out again...that's a different story."

Heero's stomach lurched. What was that baka thinking now? "You have an idea, Maxwell?"

"Yeah, and you don't have to sound so surprised." He poked a finger at the schematic of the OZ fortress.

"Base that size, people are gonna be coming and going all the time. Guards can't recognize everyone. I'm gonna need a maintenance man's uniform."

"You?"

"Hell, why should you guys have all the fun?" Duo sounded defensive, his cheerfulness forced. "What, you think I can't do it?"

"No," Trowa interjected smoothly. "It isn't that."

"Then what is it?" Duo glared at them all, his violet eyes fiery and defiant.

No one answered. Heero knew that of course they all wondered if hot-headed Duo could pull off a mission that required stealth and patience instead of simple raw courage. But not even Heero would admit it out loud.

"OK, then, if no one else has any objections, get me that uniform and an OZ work pass. I'm leaving as soon as it's light." Not giving anyone else time to argue, Duo dashed out of the room. The others sat silently, listening to him vault up the stairs two at a time.

Heero surrendered to emptiness as Duo pulled the life of the room with him. Baka, he thought, don't do anything stupid, knowing that it was a hopeless wish.

*************

Midnight had come and gone before Duo finished the arrangements for his mission. The work pass had been easy for Heero. The maintenance uniform had been more of a challenge, but Quatre had finally located the merchant who provided them to OZ personnel. All that remained was for Quatre's man to deliver Duo's disguise.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Wufei suggested. "Any of us can wait for the delivery. You'll need to be fully alert tomorrow." The Chinese pilot turned back the covers of Duo's bed. "I expect you to be sleeping when I return."

"Yes, sir." Duo did his best imitation of a penitent schoolboy, something he'd never been. "I'll be good, I promise."

A brief smile softened Wufei's eyes. "No doubt. Good night, Duo."

"G'night, Wu."

The other pilot turned off the lights and left the room. Duo stripped off his clothes, scattering them in a trail from his bed to the bathroom. Naked, he slid under the sheets, mentally reviewing his plan for tomorrow, but he found focusing almost impossible. A confused mix of thoughts about Heero and Wufei, Trowa and Quatre kept invading his deliberations. Despite Trowa's assurances, he knew they doubted him. How could he blame them? All they saw was Duo "Perpetual Motion" Maxwell. Not bad in a fight, but not the brains of the outfit. They didn't know that if he slowed down, if he stopped talking, stopped moving, he'd have to think. Even worse, he'd have to remember.

Christ, nothing was ever easy, was it?

Duo rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling, one arm bent behind his head. He knew from long experience this would be one of the nights when sleep wouldn't come. Just relax, he scolded himself. That, at least, was one thing he knew how to accomplish.

His free hand slid down his body, fingers tangling in the soft curls between his legs. If he could concentrate on the excitement of being on mission, he knew he could get himself off. Battles always gave him a hard-on. Slowly, he stroked his cock, gasping as it quivered with a life of its own. He tightened his hand around the hard, hot shaft and pumped, groaning softly.

With his other hand, he rubbed at his nipples until they, too, were hard and aching. He squirmed, feeling the familiar tension gathering as he pumped his moisture-slick cock faster. Rubbing his thumb across the swollen, sensitive head, he panted, bringing himself to the edge of pleasure. Knees bent, he thrust his hips in time to the stroking of his hand. Almost wild with need, he moaned aloud, frantically increasing his speed. His moans transformed to a rough cry of pleasure as he came, his semen oiling his hands and belly.

For a moment, he lay pleasantly exhausted, then rolled over, fished a T-shirt from under his bed, and cleaned himself off with it. Collapsing on the soft mattress, he gave himself up to languor, dimly noting that the keyboard in the next room was silent. At least tonight, Heero wouldn't be keeping him awake.

*************

Alone in the dark, Heero sat on his bed, knees drawn up under his chin. The sounds of Duo's excitement had been apparent to him-and to Wufei, who had come to Heero's room to verify a few details of their new mission. They steadfastly ignored the groans from the next room, but Duo's cry of fulfillment jolted both of them like an electric current.

Heero had stopped in the middle of his sentence. Wufei watched him, curiosity plain in his face, but he had asked nothing, and Heero had not offered. After a moment, the conversation continued as if neither were aware of Duo. They were both good actors, Heero mused.

A soft knock at his door broke his reverie. With his usual economy of motion, he rolled off the bed and switched on the light in one action.

"It's Wufei. Quatre's man just arrived."

Heero opened the door to find the Chinese pilot holding both packages the man had delivered. He handed one to Heero.

"Are you certain about this?" Wufei asked. "He'll never forgive you if he finds out."

Heero ripped open the paper wrapped around the OZ maintenance coverall, identical to the one Wufei held for Duo. "Unless he gets in trouble, he'll never know I'm there." Turning away with the excuse of folding the uniform, he muttered, "And he already has enough to hate me for. What's one more thing?"

Wufei apparently chose to ignore Heero's last comment. "And what are the chances that he won't get in trouble?"

"You're right," Heero agreed. "He's going to kill me." And maybe, he thought, that's why I'm doing this.


	3. Chapter 3

"Of course I expect them to attack," Treize Khushrenada said, his words clipped and angry. "That is why every possible entry to this base is under surveillance."

On the communication screen, Duke Dermail frowned at Treize's hostility. "My boy, I begin to wonder if you are clear about your duty."

Don't peddle it here, old man, Treize thought. He was no one's "boy." "My duty is to the glory and honor of OZ."

"Precisely," the Duke said. "And this project will increase that glory and honor a hundredfold. No, none of your arguments." He raised a veined hand, cutting off the protest he saw gathering on Treize's lips. "I've heard them quite enough. The mobile dolls will be developed, and you will protect Tsubarov and his team while he completes his work."

Part of being a soldier, Treize had always been taught, was to know when to abandon a hopeless battle. Still, he didn't have to like it. "Have no fear, Duke. I will follow your orders. You may assure the Foundation that not even the Gundams will disrupt their plans. Our security is more than adequate. "

Duke Dermail lifted a white eyebrow. "Excellent. I shall communicate your confidence to the Foundation. Good night." The screen darkened before Treize had a chance to respond, which was probably just as well, he realized.

When had his ideals and those of the Romefeller Foundation diverged? If Tsuberov succeeded, war would lose all the qualities that Treize loved, the choreography, the honor, the chance to rise above the mundane and grasp the larger truths of existence. Mobile dolls would make war nothing more than a bloodbath. Where, he agonized, was the beauty in that?

Treize stood, as if by moving away from the computer screen, he could move away from the doubts that had begun to haunt him. He paced the confines of his office in a rare display of restlessness, finally pausing in front of a highly polished credenza. For a moment, he ran his fingers over the fine antique, appreciating the grain and finish, but the mere contemplation of beauty did not soothe him. The deep brown of the wood reminded him of something...he had seen that color elsewhere recently. He did not have to sift deeply into his memories to find the one he sought. Weeks ago, in the city. The young man on the bridge, the one with the extraordinary eyes and wounded voice. His hair was this color, and had felt as silken. Treize closed his eyes, remembering. They had talked for a long time, but only barely touched. He didn't even know the boy's name.

Stop! his mind ordered. Don't try to go back. You can't ever go back.

But Treize was no longer sure he could go forward, either.

*************

Duo tugged the hood of his coveralls a little farther over his face, scrunching his body back into the most inconspicuous corner of the transport. Cold wind sliced across the open bed of the carrier, making him wish he'd asked Quatre to dig him up some thermal underwear as well as a maintenance worker's coverall. In the distance, a mountain loomed, a black cutout against the early morning sky. Apprehension prickled up the back of his neck. He'd boasted that getting in would be easy, but now he wasn't so sure.

The transport slowed as it approached what appeared to be a checkpoint. Two guards in OZ uniforms advanced on the cab, while two more watched from the gatehouse. One of the soldiers left the driver to walk around the back of the vehicle, scanning the workers who huddled around their coffee in the chill dawn. Duo shoved his hands into his sleeves, hunkering back away from the suspicious eyes of the guard.

"What's the matter with you?" The man sitting on Duo's right looked curiously at his neighbor. "It's just the routine."

"Nothin's the matter. Just cold." Duo shifted slightly, turning his head away from the man. He didn't want to give anyone a chance to become too familiar with his face.

"This your first day?"

Duo shot the man a startled look. Jesus God, was he that obvious? "Why?"

"Kid, you got no gloves and no lunch. You're either gonna freeze or starve." The man shook his head. "Don't know what you were thinking. 'Course, you weren't thinking, were you?" He laughed, then slapped Duo on the back. "But I was a kid once and wanted to get out of where I was, no matter what. Would've done any work, back then."

Duo began to understand why his own chatter annoyed his fellow pilots. He grunted, hoping the man would sense that he didn't want to talk.

The guards waved the transport on and it lurched into gear, rumbling closer to the mountain. The noise of the engine made conversation impossible while they were in motion, and Duo's nosy neighbor left him alone.

An hour and two more checkpoints later, the transport chugged to a stop at the foot of the mountain. Workers climbed out, stiff with cold, moving as a group toward a brightly-lit entrance. Duo moved forward with them, but as they began to form a single line, he started to worry. One by one, the workers passed through the last checkpoint, each laying his hand on a glowing pad. ID scanner, Duo guessed. Heero said they'd have something like this, so he'd added Duo's handprint to their database. Still, doubt niggled at the back of his mind. It'd be easy for Heero to get rid of him right here, considering he still obviously saw Duo as a liability. But that would jeopardize the mission, he reminded himself, and Heero wouldn't ever do anything like that on purpose. Would he?

"C'mon, kid," a voice behind him growled. "You're holding up the line, and I'm about to freeze my nuts off."

Taking a deep breath, Duo placed his hand on the scanner. Imitating the other workers, he let it rest there for a minute, then pulled back. Nothing happened. No sirens, no warning shouts.

"Hey, new kid! Good luck!"

Duo turned to see his nosy neighbor from the carrier waving. Giving an abbreviated wave in return, he turned back to the entry. He kept walking as if he weren't expecting to be shot any second, following behind the line of workers entering the mountain fortress. Then the entrance shut behind him and he was inside.

"That wasn't so bad," he congratulated himself. "Maybe you aren't such a screw-up after all." But, he had to remind himself, there was more to this mission than just getting inside the base. Now he had to learn what was going on here. Why had OZ gone to the trouble and expense of building a place this big and this protected? Whatever it was, Duo was sure it spelled trouble for the colonies.

Falling to the back of the group of workers, he slipped away from the well-lighted access corridor unnoticed. The service corridors branched off in all directions, seeming to run for miles underground. Without directions, he could get lost forever. Hope Heero's map is a good one, he thought, pulling out a tiny hand-held display.

The blueprints flashed on the screen, but Duo's vision blurred as he thought about Heero. Why couldn't he just forget the son of a bitch? Because, he told himself, Heero is strong. And Duo wanted someone else to be strong, just once. He was so tired of being the survivor. He only wanted to lean on someone else once in a while. Was that such a terrible wish? If he could prove to Heero that he was worth it, maybe then...maybe. Yeah, but not if he didn't do this job right. And hiding in dark corners wasn't accomplishing anything.

Noting his position, he clicked off the display and slipped it into the pocket of his coveralls. Better start with the lower levels. They'd be hiding it there, whatever it was. Duo looked down the long, semi-lit corridor, ignoring the fear trickling down his spine. Look out, OZ scumbags, he thought. Shinigami's comin'.

*************

Readouts from a dozen locations glowed eerily in the dim light of the security post. "Sir, I think you'd better have a look at this." An OZ officer frowned at the anomalous reading on his screen.

"What do you have?" The lieutenant leaned over his subordinate's shoulder. He frowned, as well. "Have you ever seen that happen before?"

"No, sir. It could be a glitch in the system."

"I don't know about that. It would have to be a pretty selective 'glitch.'"

The lieutenant studied the report intently. "Which gate?"

"West. I was doing a routine review, and everything checked out except this."

"No warnings on site?"

"No, sir. Whoever this print belongs to checked out with the system. There's just no profile to match it."

The officer again ran a search for the employee's profile, but with the same null result. "I guess it's possible that someone forgot to enter that information when they entered the profile, but..."

"But it's highly unlikely. Let me see this person's timeclock."

The security officer quickly entered the correct commands. The information blinked on the screen, and he glanced up at his lieutenant. "Now that's interesting."

"Indeed it is. Our mystery employee is brand new. This morning is the first time he's ever clocked in."

"Sir," the officer said, still sounding hesitant. "It's remotely feasible that there's been an error, something that wiped his profile."

"And his timeclock, but not his print? An error that left just enough information for him to get inside, but not enough so that we can identify him? That's asking too much of coincidence for me. I think I'd better inform Colonel Treize that we have an intruder." The lieutenant started for the door, then turned back. "Pull the surveillance tapes on the west gate from 0800 to 0830. It looks like he was with the last transport. Find out who else was on that carrier, and question them about any new faces, anyone whose behavior might have seemed suspicious. And do it fast. The Colonel won't want to be kept waiting."

*************

"An intruder?" Treize replaced the antique Limoges cup on its saucer, not pleased that his coffee had been interrupted, but even less pleased with the lieutenant's news. "Can you confirm?"

"Not yet, sir. But I'd rather not take any chances. I have my officers pulling the surveillance tapes from this morning now. They should have something shortly."

Treize appreciated efficiency. It had its own kind of necessary beauty. "Excellent." He glanced down at his own communication screen. "I think they have it now."

The lieutenant moved behind Treize, who had remained seated at his desk. Both men watched the security recording silently until one of the last workers in line passed through.

"Wait," Treize said. "I think we may have something." He watched as the worker, shorter and more slender than the others but otherwise indistinguishable, hesitated, then placed his hand on the scanner. Another hesitation, as if he expected something to happen, and then he moved on.

"That must be him, sir," the lieutenant said. "He expected to get caught."

"Yes. It's a pity we didn't get his face, though." Treize continued to watch the screen as the intruder moved more confidently toward the entrance to the mountain. Then the slight figure stopped and turned, looking back toward the carrier-and the surveillance camera. "Wait! Freeze that!"

The lieutenant obeyed, reaching over to the keyboard of Treize's computer. "I think I can bring this in closer, sir."

Treize watched as the image of the intruder's face dissolved and reformed on the screen. "It's still not clear enough. Can you do any better?"

This time, the intruder's likeness displayed in sharp detail. Only long years of practice at hiding any feeling saved Treize from crying out in disbelief. He recognized the features, despite having seen them only once. Just once in the flesh, he thought, but a hundred times in memory. He clenched his hands at his side to prevent himself from touching the image of a strand of chestnut hair that escaped from under the gray hood. Violet-blue eyes seemed to look into his own. Momentarily, they transported him to a still, cold night in the city, when his despair had nearly overwhelmed him.

He had stood on an ancient stone bridge, watching the black mirror of the river slip away into silence. Alone with his anguish, he'd noticed a slim figure at the far end of the bridge under the street lamp. Relieved to turn his attention from the dark oblivion of the water, he watched a young man, scarcely out of boyhood, idly tossing pebbles one at a time into the river. Treize wondered what thoughts preoccupied his unaware companion, when without warning the young man cursed and flung his entire handful of stones into the water.

Solitude suddenly became excruciating. The young man turned as Treize approached. No surprise showed on the boy's face, and Treize realized that he, too, had been observed.

"Alone?" Treize asked.

"Uh-huh." The boy looked up at him through a curtain of warm brown hair. "You?"

Surprisingly, the encounter hadn't ended in sex. Instead, they had talked until dawn and a fine, sleeting rain drove them apart. Treize found himself sharing the doubts that weighed so heavily on him. The boy seemed to understand, strangely enough. Perhaps not so strange, Treize mused, considering the fears the boy himself had confessed.

Reluctantly, Treize had forced himself to end the conversation. He allowed himself one touch, laying his palm against the boy's cheek, his fingers toying with a loose strand of hair. The boy closed his eyes and covered Treize's hand with his own.

"I have to go," Treize said.

"Yeah." The boy lowered his hand. "Me, too. Y'know, I don't even know your name."

Treize's smile brimmed with regret. "I think it's better that way."

"Prob'ly right." The boy shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away. He stopped, and without turning said, "Thanks."

Treize had wondered in the days since exactly what he'd been thanked for.

And now, here were those same eyes, that same heart-shaped face on his surveillance tapes. "Find the intruder, Lieutenant. He is not to be harmed, but I want him captured."

The lieutenant didn't appear to have noticed Treize's reverie. "Yes, sir. He's bound to try one of the ID scanners somewhere on the base. When he does, we'll find him."

Treize looked up from the monitor. "Notify me immediately when you do. Dismissed."

The lieutenant saluted and left. Alone, Treize leaned forward and traced the outline of the intruder's cheek with his gloved hand.

*************

Shit, Duo thought, how many levels does this place have, anyway? So far, he'd seen nothing but storage facilities despite hours of tracing the cold, dimly lit passages. This corridor seemed identical to the dozens he'd searched already.

Ahead, the corridor split. Duo reached the intersection with an inward groan. How many more of these featureless passages would he have to search before he had some clue about what OZ planned? The path to the right sloped downward, wide doors uniformly spaced along the walls like sleeping sentries. Duo sighed. He supposed he'd have to look in every one of them--he'd yet to find a locked door down here. The lefthand path held even less of interest. Not even doors disrupted the smooth rock walls. Like the first, it sloped downward away from the main corridor, but unlike the other passage, it curved sharply a few dozen feet from the entrance. Duo could see nothing beyond the bend of the corridor, but the floor there appeared to be bathed in soft blue light.

Duo chose the lefthand passage. He paused at the entry, slipping his hand into his pocket, through the long slit he'd cut there, to reassure himself that his weapon was still firmly strapped to his thigh. Then he moved stealthily along the passageway.

Turning the corner, he found a set of doors like those in the other corridors. This one, however, appeared to be guarded by a glowing wall plate, similar to the ID scanner at the gate. What do you know, Duo thought, a door they finally thought was worth locking.

He placed his hand on the scanner, smiling as the door slid open. Drawing his weapon, he eased himself into the room. Someone's lab, he realized, and a damn well-equipped one, too. Worklights glimmered along the walls, illuminating benches covered with mechanical and electronic parts. Duo picked up one of the pieces, turning it over in his hand. He recognized it immediately. Only mobile suits required these parts. So what is OZ up to, he wondered. Designing new suits?

At the end of the apparently deserted lab stood a single completed suit surrounded by a lattice of walkways and ladders. A Taurus? Duo moved closer to examine the machine. No, not exactly a Taurus. Duo searched for the release that opened the pilot's hatch, but he found nothing resembling such a control. What the hell is this, he thought, running his hands over the cold metal surface. How did they expect a pilot to get inside?

Duo shimmied up the ladder and examined the suit more closely. After making a detailed inspection, he crouched on his haunches trying to assimilate what he'd discovered.

There was no place for a pilot in this machine. It was fully automated. Duo felt tremors begin in his midsection as he imagined fighting an enemy that had no human weaknesses. No wonder OZ had carved a fortress out of solid rock to protect these machines. Against an army of these, the colonies would be helpless, if it weren't for the Gundams protecting them.

All right, Maxwell, he applauded himself. Mission accomplished. Duo pictured the look on Heero's face, respect replacing scorn, as he reported what he'd found. He saw Heero reaching out to shake hands, their fingers touching finally. Then he remembered that he still had to get out of the fortress. But that, he was sure, would be the easy part.

*************

"Sir!" A security officer called to the lieutenant. "We've got him!"

"Where?" The lieutenant scanned the schematic for an alert. There, on the lower level. "Damn! He got as far as the labs!" Whoever the intruder was, he was clever to have gotten that far without setting off the alarms. "Get down there on the double! Block all the corridors. I don't want him slipping away!"

Security teams scrambled to obey his orders. He turned back to his security board, tired of playing hide-and-seek with the intruder. Ready or not, he thought, smiling tightly at the red flashing light, here we come.


	4. Chapter 4

Duo's senses alerted him a split second before the doors opened. Four OZ uniforms entered the lab. He caught a glimpse of at least four more outside in the corridor. Eight? Shit. They knew. "No bluffing your way out of this one, buddy," he whispered to himself. Not even these guys would send eight of their finest just to check on a maintenance man.

Turning his back on the mobile suit, he knelt on the catwalk and pretended to examine a light panel. His hand itched for his weapon, but if he pulled it now, they'd fry him before he even got to the ladder. Stay cool, he told himself, ignoring the pounding of his heart. There's gotta be another way out of this lab.

"You!" One of the uniforms approached the catwalk. Another circled around behind Duo, while the remaining two covered him with their guns.

Duo looked up. Try the "innocent surprise" routine, he told himself. Maybe a little overused, but still a classic. "Me?"

The uniform wasn't buying. "If you aren't climbing down that ladder in five seconds, I'll shoot you where you are."

Duo knew he was caught. Something inside him always knew when fighting or running would help and when it wouldn't. Not that knowing made a difference. He couldn't simply give up or give in, even if it saved him some pain in the long run.

At the bottom of the ladder, two of the soldiers grabbed him, slamming him against the wall before he had time to make a move. "Hands behind your head," the first soldier ordered.

Obediently, Duo raised his hands. At the edge of his peripheral vision, he saw one of the other uniforms holding something shiny. Cuffs, he thought. They were not putting those on him, no way. He threw his elbow into the face of the nearest guard. The man grunted and fell back a step. Duo used the opening to try to dodge past the other guard at his side, but the man tackled him and they crashed forward. The guard holding him slammed his face into the floor. Duo yelped at the pain, fighting against the gray wave that clouded his brain.

"Gonna behave yourself now?" The guard he'd hit kicked him in the ribs, then grabbed him by the neck of his coverall and hauled him to his feet. Apparently not satisfied, the man punched him hard in the groin.

Duo doubled over. Sickness roiled in his throat. Don't puke in front of them, he commanded his body. Don't let them know how fucking much that hurt. "Asshole," he muttered.

The man grabbed Duo's hood, along with a handful of hair underneath. He jerked, pulling Duo's head back and bringing tears to his eyes. "Is that where you want it next, you little shit?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I kinda prefer something in a bigger size, y'know?" Even before the words left his mouth, Duo knew he'd pay for the jibe. But the snickers from the man's companions made it worth the risk. The man backhanded Duo across the face, his academy ring cutting the boy's lip. "Fuck you, bitch," Duo snarled. He tried not to cringe as the man raised his hand again.

"That's enough." The first uniform stepped forward. "Colonel Treize wants him in one piece." He twisted Duo's wrists behind his back, took the cuffs from the other guard, and slapped them on. A sly smirk tugged at the man's mouth and he motioned to the guard who'd threatened Duo. "Search him."

Christ, Duo thought, trying to distract himself from the rough hands that pawed him. Don't these guys have any other ways to get their jollies?

It took seconds for the guards to find Duo's weapon. Duo stared at a smudge on the wall while one of them unzipped his coveralls. He swallowed hard, but remained unresponsive as the man ripped the holster from his thigh. Without bothering to zip Duo's clothes, the guard shoved him toward the door. As they escorted him into the corridor, the one he'd hit leaned close to his ear.

"Don't think I'm done with you, you pussy." He jabbed his weapon into Duo's lower back to punctuate his threat. "I'll make you wish you'd been a good boy."

Oh joy, Duo thought, as he allowed himself to be led away. This is gonna be so much fun. He felt a trickle of blood on his chin, and his head still throbbed. Someday, he promised himself, he would learn to keep his mouth shut.

*************

It had taken Heero some time to understand the layout of the base, but now he moved confidently through the corridors without the help of his maps. He kept his head down and walked as if he were in a hurry. No one bothered him. Everything was going according to plan.

Except that he'd lost Duo.

The transports had arrived hours ago. Heero watched to make sure Duo was safely inside, careful to stay out of sight. He could picture the scene if that long-haired baka of a chatterbox discovered his presence. Duo's repertoire of profanity amazed even Heero sometimes. It wasn't the cursing he dreaded, though. It was what would come after the anger, the realization that the other Gundam pilots had not trusted him and the injured pride that would accompany the knowledge. Heero would swear his only concern had been the mission, and Duo would turn away so the others couldn't see the tears. He had no imagination, but it required none to predict what would happen in such a situation. How many times had they been through it before?

Heero located a network terminal in an unoccupied cubicle. The security firewalls in the system were fairly standard and he was around them in minutes. Quickly, he searched for any data that might pertain to Duo. There seemed to be nothing. Everything was going according to plan.

So why was an alarm going off in his head?

He searched again, scrutinizing every entry in the daily logs. Nothing--except for a notation in the security log that a new employee's scan had reported a null profile. Unaccustomed to fear, Heero barely recognized the cold sinking in his belly. Had he miscalculated by leaving the profile blank? Miscalculated. What a sterile word to describe what he'd done.

Fortunately, security didn't list any new prisoners. It would be all right. Everything was still going according to plan.

*************

Duo figured out that he was being taken to Treize Khushrenada. Not that anyone had told him, but he caught enough scraps of conversation to get the picture. Hell of an entrance he was going to make, too. His coveralls still hung open, unzipped half-way down his body. The pain in his face had lessened to a dull throb, but his side still ached from being kicked. He'd twisted his ankle as they'd hustled him through the corridors, and he struggled to keep from limping. Yeah, he'd really impress the OZ commander.

Finally, Duo's guards paused in front of a set of locked doors like a dozen others they'd marched him through. Permission to enter was asked and granted, and two of the soldiers shoved him unceremoniously through the doors as they slid open.

Duo tried not to gawk at the room they'd entered. But never in his life had he seen anything so...so refined. A faint scent of rose petals hung in the air. Even the light seemed warmer here. Everything in the room appeared to have been designed for beauty first, function second, including the huge carved desk. Duo had no idea what kind of wood it might be, but he'd have given anything to run his fingers over the glistening surface. It was the kind of room where he felt like someone would wallop him for talking too loud. What kind of a guy had an office like this, he wondered.

A voice called from the other room. "Leave the prisoner. You may go."

The guards exchanged startled looks, but obeyed immediately. That told Duo more about the man who worked in this room than the silver and porcelain objects that decorated heavy wooden shelves. Books, mostly leather-bound, lined the rest of the shelves. The well-worn bindings told him something about the man, too.

In the few moments since he'd entered the office, Duo had drawn a mental picture of Treize Khushrenada. The man who walked through the door looked nothing like the image he'd created. He was a lot younger for one thing, although he appeared to be perhaps a decade older than Duo. The pilot felt a moment of dissonance when Treize entered, then he laughed out loud. Duo realized he'd pictured the Colonel as looking something like Professor G with better taste in clothes.

Treize raised an elegant eyebrow. "I had no idea that being a prisoner was so amusing."

"Oh yeah, those goons were a laugh a minute, let me tell you." Duo thought furiously. He'd heard that voice somewhere before. Where?

The Colonel looked him up and down. Duo squirmed uncomfortably, wishing his hands were free so he could pull his clothes across his naked chest.

"They hurt you." Treize brushed his finger across Duo's bruised cheek, but even such a light touch was painful, and Duo winced. "I gave orders that you were not to be harmed."

"I don't think anyone gave them the message." Duo felt confused. Why was this guy acting like this? What did he want? He glanced up, catching the Colonel's intense gaze, and dropped his own eyes at once, but not before he felt his face and neck flush with warmth.

Treize walked behind him. Duo stiffened with apprehension, but relaxed slightly when he realized the Colonel had removed the cuffs. Duo hastily zipped his coveralls, feeling less vulnerable with his flesh mostly covered. Treize didn't speak again, but moved to an ornate sideboard, pouring coffee from a silver service into china cups. He added sugar and cream to both and offered one to Duo.

"Here. I don't doubt you could use this." Treize carried the other to his desk and sat down. "Please, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable."

Duo sat down awkwardly, sloshing coffee into the saucer. His hands trembled a little, and the delicate porcelain betrayed him, clinking loudly. He felt clumsy and out-of-place. Make himself comfortable? Yeah, right.

Trying to ignore the man who watched him so intently, Duo tasted the coffee. "Good stuff!" he blurted. "You're right, I can use this."

Treize smiled. "You've had a busy day."

"Look," Duo said, balancing the cup and saucer on his knee. "What's with all the polite shit? I broke into your base and you're acting like I'm your freaking guest. I don't get it."

"Don't you?"

Duo thought that the Colonel's voice sounded sad, but that had to be his imagination. "You treat all your prisoners this way?"

"Of course," Treize responded, his smile tinged with irony. "I prefer to charm information out of my prisoners rather than torturing them for it."

Duo laughed. The movement hurt his face, and the laugh ended with a sharp gasp of pain. Every ache and pain in his body seemed to flood back at once with increased intensity. He shivered despite the warmth of the room. Suddenly, he felt too tired to try to look anything other than miserable.

The colonel was beside him in an instant. "Here," the older man said, spreading a soft wool throw over Duo's shoulders. "You're cold."

The gesture jolted Duo with the shock of recognition. Startled, he dropped the china coffee cup, spilling the warm liquid across his thighs. "You! You were the guy on the bridge!"

Treize mopped at the spill with a linen napkin. Duo grabbed his hand. "Stop it! Answer me--that was you, wasn't it? The guy I talked to all night."

Treize straightened, then sat on the edge of his desk. "Yes. I watched you throwing stones into the water. You got angry at something, and I approached you. We sat on the bench next to the river and talked all night."

Duo clutched the arms of the chair, his knuckles white. "I knew I'd heard your voice before...and then you put this around me, just like you did with your coat..." He squeezed his eyes shut. He'd liked that guy! He'd been understanding, a good listener, and he'd never once tried to put the moves on Duo, even though Duo knew he wanted to. How could that have been Treize Khushrenada?

"I've thought about you often," Treize said quietly.

"Yeah," Duo admitted. "Me, too."

Like, every time Heero ignored him, which was about a hundred times a day. He'd been so pissed at Heero that night. Nothing he had done could get his roommate's attention. He had even tried walking out of the shower right in front of him, making a seductive ritual of drying his naked body. Heero hadn't even turned around.

Frustrated and rejected, he'd walked out of the safehouse without telling anyone where he was going. He'd show Heero. He didn't care, he'd take the first offer he got. He'd go home in the morning, looking like he hadn't slept and smelling of sex. Only he found he couldn't do it. So he wound up on that bridge, playing "he loves me, he loves me not" with pebbles. He never finished the game. What was the point, when he already knew the answer?

Then that guy--Treize, he corrected himself--had walked up to him. Duo thought he knew what the guy wanted, and that was okay with him. Expecting to be steered toward a hotel with hourly rates, he was surprised when Treize asked if he wanted to sit for a while and talk.

"About what?" No one ever asked Duo to talk. In fact, everyone was always telling him to shut up.

"Whatever you wish." Treize settled back, stretching his arms along the back of the bench. "You could start with telling me what made you so angry a few moments ago, if you like."

"Angry? Oh, you mean when I threw the rocks." Duo shrugged. "That was nothin'. Just a guy who doesn't like me as much as I like him."

Treize nodded sympathetically. "I'm not sure if anything hurts quite like that."

Duo looked at the handsome man. He obviously had money. His clothes appeared tailor made, even his jeans. He had an assurance about him that spoke of power. Who in their right mind would turn him down? "Right, like you know anything about it."

"You think I've never been rejected?"

Duo sniffed in disbelief. "Sorry if I sound cynical, but I have a hard time picturing it. Let's see--was it because you're too rich or too good looking?"

Treize laughed, although it had an undertone of self-deprecation. "I suppose I can see how it looks to you. But trust me, even I, as fabulously handsome and wealthy as I am, do not get everything--or everyone--I want."

Duo laughed, too. "Boy, your life must be really rough."

The older man's smile faded. "If only you knew," he said, almost too low for Duo to hear. Then he turned to the boy. "Here, you're shivering. That jacket of yours is nothing against this wind. Take my coat."

"What about you?" Duo protested, although the coat, still warm from his companion's body, felt good. Almost like a hug. Almost.

"I'll be all right." He leaned back again, his arm nearly, but not quite, brushing against Duo's shoulders. "Now, tell me about this foolish boy who doesn't care for you."

So Duo had told him about Heero, and about being a joker when he ached so bad inside he couldn't stand it and being afraid of dying before he really got much of a chance to live. And then he'd listened to Treize tell him about trying to live with honor in a world where honor had become obsolete. He remembered the way Treize had touched him, like he wanted to do a lot more, but wouldn't.

Yeah, he'd thought about that night a lot.

"So now what?" he asked Treize.

"Perhaps," Treize said, "you could begin by telling me your name."

"I guess I could." Duo looked away. "But it kinda depends on who's asking, Colonel Treize Khushrenada or the guy on the bridge."

"Which one would you answer?" Treize asked.

Duo studied his captor. Treize wore the OZ Specials uniform as if it were a second skin. Duo tried to picture him dressed in a sweater and jeans, the way he'd been that night, but he couldn't. In this room, it seemed as if only Treize Khushrenada existed. That other person had only been a dream. He looked away.

"I see." The colonel stood. He pressed a button on his desk. "I hoped to do this differently." Duo swore he heard a tremor in Treize's voice. "But I understand."

"So do I." Duo stood, his twisted ankle stiff and throbbing. It took effort to walk without favoring it.

The door signal jarred them both. Treize snapped, "Enter," and two guards obeyed. "Take the prisoner to the cell block. I want at least four guards outside his door at all times. No one enters except by my order."

Both soldiers saluted, the ranking one answering with a brisk, "Yes, sir!"

Duo gritted his teeth, but managed to follow the guards to the door without limping. Part of him wanted to turn, to tell Treize everything, his name, his mission, all of it. He knew that, had circumstances been different, they could have been friends--or more. And that, Duo realized, was what made him such a deadly enemy.


	5. Chapter 5

Sleep eluded Treize. Of late, he'd become familiar with restless nights, but this time, neither Romefeller's objectives nor Tsuberov's mobile dolls caused him to lie awake. Certainly, honor had nothing to do with his thoughts at the moment, he mused. The thoughts he'd been having about his prisoner were, on the contrary, most dishonorable.

Stretching across his bed, Treize lay on his back, arms folded behind his head. He wondered if his captive were sleeping. Or was it possible that his dreams were equally disrupted? And if they were, could it be thoughts of Treize that disturbed him, and not the cold, uncomfortable cell?

Why couldn't the boy at least tell him his name? Constant soldier as he was, he knew that he desired that piece of information, not for OZ, but for himself. He wanted to be able to whisper a name in the night when he remembered the silk of the boy's hair. He wanted a name to cry out in the midst of passion.

But he wouldn't tell, and Treize did not want to force it out of him. If he had to, he could-- and would--but surely there were other avenues he could try first. Treize lay perfectly still for some time, reviewing every moment of their two meetings as if watching a recording. At last, he came to this evening and their final words. Perhaps, he thought, that was the answer. If the boy would not talk to Treize Khushrenada, well, then, offer him another confidente. Treize got out of bed and began searching through his wardrobe until he found a dark sweater and jeans. Pulling them on, he left his quarters for the cell block and his nameless prisoner.

*************

Duo huddled on the hard metal bench that served as a bed. He'd done it again. Fucked everything up. But how'd they catch him so easily? Granted, Heero and Trowa were better at the covert stuff, but he didn't think he'd been careless. He'd followed the plan, done what he was supposed to do. So how come he was freezing his ass off in an OZ cell?

C'mon, he chided himself, things weren't so bad. He'd been in worse spots before. Lots worse. Yeah, but he'd never been likely to have a wet dream about the guy who was holding him prisoner, either. Maxwell, he thought, you are fucked in the head.

Without warning, the cell door slid open. Blinded by the sudden light, Duo shaded his eyes with his hand. Squinting, he saw the figure of a tall man silhouetted in the bright doorway. The man stepped inside, doors closing behind him.

Duo sat up. When he did, sensors raised the room's lighting to a dim glow, enough for him to see that the OZ colonel had been replaced by the image that had troubled his thoughts. Pretty sneaky, he acknowledged. Good thing he was on his guard. Otherwise, the trick might have worked.

Treize took a tentative step toward the bench. "Are you alone?"

Duo's eyes widened as he recognized the other man's greeting. Play along, he told himself. See what he has in mind. "Yeah. You?"

"Yes. May I sit down?"

Duo nodded, although he stared at the floor as Treize sat down. This is bogus, he told himself. He's just trying to get information. He doesn't mean anything by this.

A moment passed. "Can we talk now?" Treize asked.

"About what?" Duo was finding the floor a safer place for his attention than the man next to him. Mission, he reminded himself. He had a mission.

"About who you are and why you're here." Treize sat with both hands clasped loosely between his knees. He continued, his voice casual, as if the words had little import. "The guards found you in the lab. I presume that was your goal?"

"You can presume what you want." Duo licked his suddenly parched lips.

"I take it you are either from the Alliance or the colonies. Not that it really matters. I can't let you report to anyone what you've seen."

Duo shuddered at the thought of those soulless robot suits in the lab. "Were those things your idea?"

"Mine?" Treize's head jerked up. "Never! Those...things...have no place in war, as far as I am concerned."

"Yeah?" Duo stretched, folding his hands behind his head. "A weapon's a weapon. I mean, I wouldn't want to fight one of them. They wouldn't make mistakes like a human pilot would. Wouldn't be limited by reflexes, either, so I'll bet they're damn fast. But shit, if you can build them, why not?"

Treize opened his mouth as if to respond, but then he looked hard at Duo, his eyes slightly narrowing. Abruptly, he sighed. "You're a child, and you know nothing of war."

"I'm not a child!" Duo sat up, his hands balled into fists. "And war is all I've ever known."

Concern quenched the angry blaze in the sapphire eyes. "My apologies. I had no right to assume anything about you." He gave Duo a long, considering look. "I see, in fact, that I've been quite wrong in some of my assumptions. You spoke as though you've fought against mobile suits yourself. You think like a pilot."

Goddamnit, Maxwell, Duo cursed at himself, you and your mouth. "Do I?" he asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Yes. You are a pilot, aren't you?"

"Damn." Duo pouted. "That's twice today that hasn't worked."

A reluctant smile twitched at the corners of Treize's mouth. "Am I correct?"

"Guess there's not much point in lying about it. Yeah, I'm a flyboy, all right." Duo saluted, grinning sardonically.

"And what do you fly, my nameless pilot?" Treize leaned closer. Duo caught a whiff of masculine scent, a melange of spice and warm skin. "As I said, it really makes no difference. You aren't going anywhere. But I'm curious. You seem rather young to be a pilot."

"I'm old enough to fly a Gundam!"

Treize raised an elegant eyebrow. "A Gundam? I see my presumptions about you have been most incorrect."

Goddamnmotherfuckingsonofabitch. Way to go, Maxwell. Why didn't he just rattle off a list of all Quatre's safehouses while he was at it? Sullen, he clamped his mouth shut, crossed his arms, and stared at the floor.

"Which one are you? Heero Yuy?" Treize continued to study him, as if he were looking for something.

Duo snorted. "Me? The Perfect Soldier? Not hardly." Heero would never have given himself away like that. Shit, he was making a mess of the whole mission, and Heero would never speak to him again after this. Assuming the other pilot didn't kill him, of course.

Treize reached out and brushed Duo's hair away from his face. "Then which one?"

The butterfly touch startled Duo. His voice trembled when he protested faintly. "You're not playing fair."

"No, I'm not, am I?" Treize's caress became less tentative, his fingers tracing the outline of Duo's cheek and chin.

"What else do you want from me?" Duo bit his lip. Treize's touch burned through his body. "Stop it," he whispered.

Treize withdrew his hand. "As you wish."

Confusion racked Duo. He felt worse when Treize quit touching him. Closing his eyes, he wrapped his arms tightly around himself. What was wrong with him?

"Please," Treize asked, his voice gentle, the OZ colonel completely eclipsed. "Won't you at least tell me your name?"

Without opening his eyes, he answered. "Duo. Duo Maxwell."

"Duo," Treize repeated, saying his name the way Duo had dreamed of hearing Heero say it. "I have one more question."

"What?"

Treize hesitated as if choosing his words carefully. "That night, on the bridge. When we parted, you said, 'Thank you.' What were you thanking me for?"

"You remember that? Wow," Duo said, amazed. "I guess for listening. And for not trying to pick me up. I thought that's what you wanted to do at first. No offense, but I was pretty glad you didn't."

"What's the matter, Duo? Don't you enjoy making love?"

"Dunno. Never done it before." The walls he'd built around his memories began to crumble. Change the subject, his mind begged. If they kept talking about this, Duo knew he'd be sorry. He never spoke of these things to anyone. He couldn't survive any other way.

Treize stared in disbelief. "You aren't going to try to convince me that you're a virgin."

"Virgin?" Duo laughed, but it had an ugly sound. "Hell no, not since I was, like, eight or nine." A dark flood of memory rose up in his mind, and he trembled with the effort of holding it back.

Something that looked like shock and pain twisted Treize's sculpted mouth. "Then what do you mean?"

Duo shrugged, trying to pretend he didn't care. "I meant that no one's ever made love to me." His voice betrayed him, breaking suspiciously. "Just fucked me, that's all."

Duo turned his head, violently hoping Treize wouldn't notice the tears collecting in his eyes. Maybe he'd leave now that he'd found out what he wanted to know. No such luck. Treize reached over and tilted up Duo's chin.

"You have the loveliest eyes I've ever seen," Treize said, drawing his forefinger between Duo's brows, down the abbreviated bridge of his tiptilted nose. Duo blinked, sending two large tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Get outta here," he said in disbelief, his voice quavering. Christ, he hoped Treize meant it.

It's true." Treize brushed his fingers over the boy's eyelids. "There's a wildflower that grows in my country that's precisely this color, one that blooms in early spring, when the farmers are plowing. It makes drifts of purple across the brown earth. I shall never see it again without thinking of your eyes. And your hair." Treize lifted the long braid to his lips. "You are beautiful, Duo Maxwell." He tugged gently on the braid he held in his hand, pulling Duo closer to him. "I cherish beautiful things."

Duo let himself be drawn into Treize's arms, allowed his head to rest in the hollow of his captor's shoulder. He didn't return the embrace, but neither did he fight it. Through the knit of Treize's sweater, he felt the hard muscle of the arms that held him, but it was a gentle, cautious strength. Powerful hands stroked his hair, careful not to snag errant strands that fell from his braid.

"Duo," Treize murmured, as if he took pleasure in saying the boy's name. "I'm so sorry..." His voice trailed off. "That sounds terribly inadequate and condescending, and I don't mean it to be."

Duo lifted his head so that he could see Treize's face. "Hey," he said, managing a weak imitation of his usual bravado, "don't feel sorry for me. I'm still here. I survived."

"Yes." Treize nuzzled lightly against Duo's tousled hair. "But I'm sorry for what survival has cost you. Can you ever forgive the Universe for what it's done to you?"

How was it that this guy seemed to know exactly what he felt? Duo pressed his face against Treize's chest and spoke softly. "Not always. But sometimes it's easier than others."

Strong arms tightened around him. "What about now?"

"You're making it easier."

Treize shifted, pulling Duo onto his lap. Slightly surprised but not troubled, Duo cooperated, snuggling into the older man's embrace.

"Duo," Treize began. "You know that I want you."

In his new position, Duo could feel the heat and hardness of Treize's erection pressing against his hip. He nodded, wondering if Treize were as aware of his similar condition.

"But I won't take you unless you wish it. And I won't take you here." Treize gestured to include the cold bench, the dull metal walls of the cell. "I don't want this to be another fuck." The word sounded strange in Treize's mouth, as if the coarseness of it were unfamiliar to him.

Duo whispered, "I want you, too." It's a chance to escape, he told himself, a way out of this cell. So I can finish this mission. Thoughts tumbled through his head with such chaos that he wasn't sure himself which was the lie.

"Then come with me." Treize put his hands on Duo's slender waist, lifting him easily and setting him on his feet. Standing, he motioned for Duo to follow him.

For a moment, Duo felt a pang of disappointment, until he realized that Treize could hardly walk out of the cell with his arm around his prisoner. Willing to go along with whatever charade Treize intended, he took a step toward the door. Pain shot through his leg. His injured ankle had stiffened while they'd been talking, and it refused to support him. He stumbled, catching himself on the endge of the bench.

"Duo!" Treize lifted him, made him sit. "You're hurt. Why didn't you say something?" He knelt, pulling up the cuff of Duo's coverall. As he gently prodded the swollen ankle, he glanced up in mute apology when his probing caused Duo to hiss with pain.

"Right," Duo said through clenched teeth. "Tell my jailer that I'm hurt. Great strategy, that one."

Ignoring Duo's sarcasm, Treize stood, offering his hand to Duo. "Do you think you can walk if you lean on me?"

"Lean on you?" Duo's voice cracked as it hadn't done in a long time. "You mean out there, in front of the guards?"

"Unless you'd prefer to crawl, I believe that's your only option." Treize slid an arm around Duo's waist, carefully lifting him to his feet. The top of Duo's head barely reached the taller man's shoulder. Treize smiled. "I hadn't realized that you're so small."

Duo found a flirtatious grin. "Not where it counts!"

Treize chuckled and playfully swatted Duo's behind. "Behave yourself. It would hardly do for the commander of OZ to be drooling with lust as he escorts his prisoner for further interrogation."

*************

Heero shoved the body of the OZ security man, now dressed in maintenance coveralls, into a dark corner. His uniform fit Heero well, although not with the usual precision of OZ tailoring. Still, it would be sufficient.

He needed more information than the computer logs had given him. His guise as a maintenance worker no longer served, so he adopted the persona of a security guard. Sometimes it almost frightened him how easily he was able to assume the roles his missions demanded of him. Callow student or disciplined killer, it was all the same to him.

Heero strode through the corridors toward the cell block. One prisoner, the log read. Apprehended at 2100 on Level 9. Assigned to cell number 001. No other data.

Heero required no further data to know that the prisoner was Duo. His fists clenched as he recalled how OZ treated captives, especially those suspected of espionage. But Duo had great physical courage. Although the motormouth frequently teased Heero about his own stoicism, Heero had seen Duo shrug off pain that would have rendered most men unconscious. Their enemies would not have had time to apply enough coercion to make him talk. Talk about anything important, he corrected himself. He could not imagine that Duo would be a quiet captive.

The idea of Duo in the hands of an OZ interrogator twisted his stomach. Ignoring the churning in his gut, Heero approached the detention level. Rescue must be his first priority. Duo was too valuable a pilot to sacrifice unnecessarily. Too valuable a friend, he admitted to himself.

Heero automatically counted the guards in the corridor. Two at the control desk, four at the cell door, he observed, his mind coldly calculating the odds against him. The sentries' shift would change soon. Better for him to wait and present himself for guard duty then. He eased back around the corner where he could wait and watch.

The door of the cell opened. Heero's eyes went immediately to the slender, braided figure, assessing his condition. Duo leaned heavily against the side of a tall man in dark civilian clothing. He took a few hobbling steps, clearly in pain. Heero's mouth hardened.

The man in dark clothes spoke. "I am taking the prisoner for additional questioning. You are dismissed until further notice." The guards saluted him and withdrew. Heero rocked forward on the balls of his feet, ready to launch himself at the tall man, when recognition wrenched him to a stop.

Cold hatred flooded Heero. He despised no man on Earth or in space as much as Treize Khushrenada. Others had used and tricked him, but he would never forget nor forgive the events at New Edwards base, nor Colonel Treize's part in them. "My enemy," he said softly, his hand twitching toward his gun. But Duo stood between him and his foe. He could not shoot one without shooting the other.

Duo shuffled forward a few more steps. Treize bent over him. "Duo, this is ridiculous. You can't walk."

Heero's eyes widened, his hatred deeper, if possible, than before. That viper played some sort of game, and with his Duo. Rage choked him.

Duo looked up at Treize and grinned. "Guess this means I'm gonna have to crawl, huh?"

Heero felt as though the floor tilted under him. He reached out to steady himself against the wall.

"Nonsense." Treize scooped Duo into his arms with easy strength. "While the thought of you on your knees has a certain appeal, I'd prefer to see you in that position in private."

The roaring in Heero's ears drowned out Duo's answer. Treize bent his head over the boy in his arms, capturing his mouth in a passionate kiss. Duo's arms stole around the Colonel's neck as he returned the kiss with obvious enthusiasm.

Heero drew his gun, but found his vision too blurred to allow him a clear shot. By the time he could see, the two had disappeared, although their laughter still echoed in the empty corridor. He slumped back against the wall, staring blindly at the vacant cell. His fingers convulsed on the butt of his gun. "I will kill you," he growled, not completely certain which enemy he threatened.


	6. Chapter 6

Treize carried Duo through his suite to the bedroom, carefully setting him on the floor near the end of the bed. "Sit down," he ordered.

Duo obeyed, willing to let Treize take charge. After trying and failing with Heero for months, the older man's attention was a salve on his wounded ego. And there was an odd sort of comfort in falling back into old patterns.

He glanced around the room, automatically calculating the value of every item with the practiced assessment of a former thief and scavenger. Any one of the wall hangings alone would have fed him for a year back on L2.

He realized he'd put Treize in the "rich guy" category the night they'd met. These rooms proved his eye was as good as ever.

Not even getting to first base with Heero had made him think he might be losing his touch, but Treize seemed just as willing for a quick one with the street kid as the other rich guys in his past. Maybe Heero didn't want him, but this was a game he knew how to play. Smiling, he decided that this bed was a hell of a lot more comfortable than the bunk in the cell, and he damn well wasn't sleeping there when he could sleep here. Duo leaned back on his elbows, knees spread, waiting for Treize to give some indication of what he wanted him to do next.

Treize knelt and removed the clumsy work boot and heavy sock from Duo's injured foot. He hesitated a moment, then removed the other boot as well.

"Treize," Duo protested, surprised. "I'm OK. Leave it--"

"Hush." Treize examined the injury with surprising skill. "I think you've only sprained it. However, it needs to be wrapped and iced to reduce the swelling."

"Treize," Duo whined, making two syllables of the name. "That's not the swelling that's bothering me, y'know?"

Treize looked up, his clear blue eyes momentarily startled at Duo's brashness. Then he stood, hands on his hips. Duo tilted his head so he could see the Colonel, who towered over him from this angle. He wondered if he'd made a mistake--maybe Treize didn't like that kind of talk. But a small, speculative smile quirked the corner of Treize's mouth. Without warning, Duo found himself tackled and flattened against the soft mattress, Treize's body covering his.

For an instant, Duo felt a pang of fear. Then he saw the teasing sparkle in Treize's eyes and relaxed. "How about some first aid?"

"Gladly." Treize nuzzled at the shell of Duo's ear, outlining it with his tongue. Slowly, he traced a line of kisses down his neck until he found the small cleft at the base of Duo's throat, fastened his mouth there, and sucked gently.

Duo squirmed, straining upward with his hips, trying to apply pressure where his body craved it. Treize allowed him to grind their bodies together for a moment, then he lifted himself away. Duo groaned in frustration. "Man, you're making me crazy!"

"That's my intention," he said, smiling wickedly. Treize unzipped Duo's coveralls a few inches to the middle of his chest. He slid one hand under the cloth, his fingers searching until they found one of Duo's nipples. With his thumb, he gently rubbed until it hardened, then pulled aside the rough fabric and lowered his mouth to the small nub of flesh.

"Shit!" Duo gasped. He wasn't supposed to be letting Treize make all the effort. He promised himself he'd go to work. In just a minute.

Treize raised his head. "Is something wrong?" He sounded genuinely concerned, although he continued to tease Duo's body with his fingers.

"N-no." Treize's touch drove all coherent thought from Duo's mind. "Feels like...like I'm on fire," he whispered, not entirely aware he'd spoken aloud.

Treize was too busy using his mouth on Duo's body to reply, but his increased effort showed that he had heard. Duo writhed, his hands clutching and twisting the satin bed covers. He hadn't known that anything could feel so good. He hadn't ever guessed that being with someone could be like this.

*************

Treize lifted his head, his hands tormenting the smooth skin from Duo's neck to his waist. He watched Duo's face, delighting in his unrestrained responses. Deep violet eyes fluttered open, as if he had sensed Treize's scrutiny. With slow deliberation, he cupped his hand under Duo's chin, bending down to reach his mouth. Duo half closed his eyes, parted his lips slightly as if in anticipation. Treize paused. For the moment, nothing existed for him but that exquisite mouth inches from his own. He studied it, noting where the lips curved and swelled, the minute variations in color, the texture of the skin. Such a work of art.

A rush of possessive need engulfed Treize. He slid one hand behind Duo's head, gently pushing so that the delicious lips met his own, his fingers curled around the thick braid. Slowly, he unbound Duo's hair, combing through the shining strands with his fingers, spreading the chestnut cascade until it spread out like a silk coverlet across the bed. He sighed with pleasure, reveling in the soft strands, the warm scent that was all Duo.

Pressing his mouth more firmly onto those now-swollen lips, he felt the younger man's eager response. Treize probed slightly with his tongue, insistent but without violence, feeling his own body harden further at the small, mewling noises the boy made. Encouraged by the shudders he felt coursing through his partner, he began to slide Duo's coveralls off his shoulders. Duo's eyes flew open as he sensed the change in Treize's purpose. The faintest hint of alarm showed in them, enough to make Treize stop.

"I would like to be able to see you--all of you. May I?"

Duo nodded. Treize sensed the boy's alertness to his desires, almost as if he feared not pleasing his partner. Slim hands trembled as he fumbled with the unfamiliar fastenings of the coverall.

"No," Treize said, gently pulling Duo's hands away. "Let me."

"Huh?"

"Let me undress you."

"But-but I should--" Duo protested in obvious confusion.

Treize sighed. "Duo, do you understand that I wish to do this for you? You do not have to make a show of it in order to excite me."

Unmistakable relief filled Duo's violet eyes. It was all the encouragement Treize needed. Slowly, he pulled the zipper of Duo's coveralls, opening them to his waist. Sliding his hands inside the uniform, Treize pushed the heavy cloth off Duo's shoulders, baring him to his hips. He took in the perfection of the young man's body, the ivory of his skin pale against the wine-dark satin of the bed. The well-developed muscles of his arms and torso surprised him somewhat, given the boy's slenderness. Duo could have been some ancient sculptor's model, his beauty preserved eternally in marble. Perfect, save for a single thin scar that curved around his hip.

Duo must have realized where Treize's attention had fastened, because he drew his arm close to his body, obviously trying to hide the mark.

"Don't," Treize whispered, wrapping his fingers around Duo's wrist and lifting his arm away from his side. "It makes you more human. It reminds me that you can be hurt."

Treize tugged gently on the zipper of Duo's coveralls, opening them fully. He leaned down, brushing his lips against the scar. Duo arched his back at the unexpected touch, and Treize used the opportunity to slide his coveralls and briefs over the pilot's slim hips, removing them completely. His hands caressed Duo's long legs, spreading them, working slowly from his calves to the soft skin of his inner thighs. Treize lightly stroked Duo's rigid organ enough to inflame without satisfying.

"Please," Duo whimpered. He thrust his hips upward, attempting to press himself more firmly into Treize's hand. Then he stopped, abruptly, his eyes wide with fear. "I-I'm sorry, Treize, I-"

Treize stopped him with a kiss, one that began gently but gradually increased in heat. "There's no shame in asking for what you want, little one," he said, smiling as he traced an elegant finger over the planes of Duo's face. "Such beauty," he murmured, drinking in the strange fusion of experience and innocence, desire and fear in the violet-blue eyes.

Treize gave Duo what he'd asked for, but only briefly, circling his fingers around Duo's erection for a few long, firm strokes. Then he lowered his hand, reaching between his lover's legs to find the small, tight opening there.

Without warning, Duo's body went rigid, his eyes squeezed shut. He breathed in panting sobs, as if he couldn't manage to get enough air, moaning something unintelligible. Treize leaned closer to hear.

"No." Only one word, repeated in a small, desolate voice.

Treize reached to hold him, but Duo pulled back. "What is it, Duo?" The young pilot rolled away and turned his back to Treize. Treize laid a hand on his shoulder, puzzled by the sudden tension he found there. "Tell me."

Duo shook his head, his long chestnut hair tumbling across his shoulders, shielding his face. He lay on his side, curled up in a small bundle of hurt. When he finally spoke, his voice sounded ashamed, forlorn. "I guess-I guess I'm no good at this any more after all."

Treize felt helpless. He knew that he could not begin to imagine the scars on Duo's soul. Out of his own arrogance, he'd thought he could heal this wounded young man, that he had the power to banish the past. Instead, he seemed to be causing Duo more pain. Unexpectedly humbled, he took Duo's hand, his habitual assurance deserting him.

As if he'd been burned, Duo pulled his hand away. Still hiding beneath the waterfall of his hair, he said, "Don't waste your time with me. I'd just be a disappointment."

"I can't believe that." Treize began to kneed gently at the taut muscles of Duo's shoulders. When some of the tightness eased from the muscles, he pulled Duo onto his back, not allowing the young man to look away. "Who do you think you've disappointed?"

Bitterness and something darker swept across Duo's face. "I've let down everyone who ever depended on me. Yeah, it's true." He laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. "Shinigami is really the ultimate fuck-up. Great joke, isn't it?"

"You are not Shinigami," Treize said with quiet authority, stroking the soft brown hair. "You are Duo. And you will not disappoint me."

"I'm warning you, Treize. I bring Death with me. I always have." Duo faltered, his eyes full of old pain.

"Hush." Treize kissed him, more demanding than before, determined to drive away the demons that haunted this exquisite creature. "I'm not planning on meeting Death anytime soon. And when I do, you'll have nothing to do with it."

*************

Heero hunkered in the empty corridor, white and shaking. Sourness filled his mouth. He wiped a rope of spittle from his chin with the back of his hand. Red saturated his vision.

Like a litany, he repeated to himself, "I have no friends. I have no companions. I have only my mission."

What a fool he'd been to forget that.

The shaking diminished and stopped. He stood, his gun still in his hand. The mask of the Perfect Soldier descended on his sharp features as he felt his sense of purpose crystallize. He removed his electronic map of the base from his pocket and pressed the tiny power switch. As emotionless as Wing's computer activating the firing lock, he located Treize Khushrenada's suite.

He memorized the location, then replaced the device in his pocket. One more task and he was ready. Carefully opening the chamber of his gun, he verified that he still had sufficient ammunition. More than enough to fulfill this mission. For that, he would need only three shots.

*************

Duo lay dazed, letting Treize explore him. Oh shit, he was so good. No one had ever done the things to Duo's body that this man was doing, keeping him balanced on the knife-edge of pleasure-pain without pushing him over. Duo thought he knew all the tricks in the book, but Treize made him realize he was barely even a novice when it came to sexual expertise.

He ached with hunger, not just his cock, but every inch of him. His hands couldn't touch Treize enough, his mouth couldn't taste him enough. Treize's need seemed to equal his own. Duo saw it in his crystal-blue eyes, darkened with desire; he heard it roughen that smooth, cultured voice.

The older man's tongue flicked over the tip of Duo's cock, explored the length of it, running along the sensitive ridge. Duo wriggled under the maddening sensations until he found himself begging for release.

Treize kissed Duo's inner thighs, his tongue drawing small circle on the sensitized flesh. "Tell me what you want," he said, his voice husky.

"I want you," Duo answered, his voice dying off into a groan as Treize gently nipped at the peach-velvet skin of his balls.

"Mmmm...I like the sound of that. Say it again," Treize ordered. He pushed Duo's legs farther apart, his mouth roaming over the young pilot's genitals.

"I want you!" Duo nearly sobbed, unaware of anything now but the frantic demand of his body for climax. But Treize was far too skillful to allow him to come so quickly, retreating when the sensations threatened to push him over the brink only to bring him back even closer than before.

"And where," Treize purred, his tongue rimming Duo's entrance, "do you want me?"

"Inside." Raw desire shredded Duo's voice. "Oh god, Treize....I want...I need you inside me."

Treize brushed his fingers against Duo's lips. "Help me make you ready," he whispered.

Duo opened his mouth and eagerly sucked on the long, elegant fingers. His actions obviously excited Treize, who threw back his head with a loud groan of pleasure. But it also comforted Duo to nurse on his partner's fingers, dulling the aching emptiness that crept out of the dark corners of his consciousness. Too soon, Treize withdrew his fingers, but Duo felt them cautiously exploring his ass, pushing gently at the tight ring of muscle between his buttocks.

Duo stared into Treize's sapphire eyes, searching for the echo of his own desire. "Treize?"

Treize stroked Duo's cheek with his free hand. "What is it, my pretty one?"

In a voice much smaller than he intended, Duo asked, "Do you want me, too?"

"You silly--" Treize broke off, his voice becoming almost tender. "Yes, Duo, I want you. So much so that I can barely stand it. Will you let me give us both what we want?"

"Yesss..." Duo sank back into the unfamiliar softness of the bed, waiting. Treize wanted him, and that made it all right. A finger slid into him, stretching him so gently that he barely noticed any pain, aware only of the way his lover mastered the inside of his body as well as the outside. "More..." he pleaded, instinctively moving his hips against Treize's hand.

Treize pushed a second finger into him, and then a third. Duo's breath shortened. He could feel his muscles protest slightly now, but Treize's dexterous fingers overrode the discomfort with intense pleasure. Finally, Treize slid his fingers out as sensitively as he had inserted them. Duo cried out at the sudden emptiness, but his lover soothed him, stroking his body, his hair.

"I can't stand it....don't make me wait any more," Duo begged, feeling abruptly, inexplicably lost.

"One moment longer," Treize promised, sliding a pillow under Duo's hips. Duo opened his eyes slightly to see Treize squeezing a dollop of lubricant from a tube. He trembled, watching the older man smear the ointment over his own member with slow, sensuous strokes. God, what a magnificent body he had. His hands clenched with anticipation.

"It's not...my first time," Duo gasped, "you don't have to-"

"As far as I am concerned, it *is* your first time."

Treize pushed the head of his penis against Duo's sphincter with steady, insistent pressure. Duo's body resisted the invasion, but Treize continued the pressure even as he stroked Duo's quivering belly and thighs, murmuring encouragement. Duo bit his lip as the swollen head thrust into him, followed inch by excruciating inch with the entire length of Treize's penis. He tried not to tense, but the burning pain of being impaled tightened his muscles involuntarily.

"I'm hurting you," Treize said, as he began to pull away.

Duo grasped Treize's hips. "Yes," he admitted, "but don't stop." If Treize pulled away from him now, he felt as though he'd die.

"Ah, Duo," Treize looked down at him, his expression soft, yet faintly sad. "That is the sweetest gift anyone has ever given me." He held still, letting Duo's body accept him, smoothing the young pilot's sweat-damp hair away from his face.

Gradually, the pain ebbed, and Treize began to thrust into Duo's body, slowly at first, carefully watching his partner's face for any sign of distress. Duo drowned in the sensation, crying out as Treize's body hit his center of pleasure, stroking it with each powerful movement.

Treize's hand, still slick with lubricant, wrapped around Duo's cock, stroking it with the same rhythm as his thrusts. "I-I can't take any more," Duo whimpered. "I need to come, Treize, please-"

"Then come for me, my pretty one." Treize groaned with his own heat, increasing the speed of his thrusts and his hand.

Duo arched against his lover, his head thrown back in sheer ecstasy, mouth open in a wordless cry. His semen spurted into Treize's hand, his body clenching against his lover's in spasms. Dimly, he was aware of Treize's grip tightening, of the older man crying out, and of being filled with his lover's seed.

For a few moments, Duo lay contentedly under Treize's broad chest, his fingers toying with the sparse blond hair that grew there. He made a small noise of dismay, reaching blindly for his lover, as he felt the other man pull out of his body.

"It's all right, Duo," Treize murmured, his voice heavy with satisfaction. "I'm not going anywhere."

He lay back, drawing the young pilot with him. Duo curled up under his arm like a sleepy kitten. He felt Treize stroking his hair, and he nuzzled against the strong body next to him, too tired to lift his head. He shivered, cold where the air touched his sweat-slick flesh, snuggling closer as Treize pulled a cover over both of them.

"Treize?"

"Hmm?" The OZ commander wound his fingers through Duo's tangled mass of hair.

"Thanks. That was great. No, it was better than great. It was awesome." He took a deep breath, afraid to ask the next question, even though he had to. "But why'd we do that?"

Treize shifted, leaned up on one elbow. "I know my motives. Don't you know yours?"

"Well, yeah, sure." A puzzled frown creased his forehead. "I mean, I guess. Maybe."

"Duo," Treize began, a slight edge of exasperation creeping into his voice. Duo hadn't noticed before that he sort of sounded like Heero. "I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to ask me. But I assure you, I had no ulterior motive beyond wanting to give you pleasure and to enjoy you myself."

"You aren't expecting me to, like, talk in my sleep, or something?"

"I fully expect you to talk in your sleep. I find it difficult to believe that you ever stop talking." Treize smiled, robbing his words of any bite. "I discovered what I needed to know about you before I brought you back to my rooms. This had nothing to do with the war or your mission--or mine."

"Honest?" Duo looked up through his disheveled hair.

"Go to sleep, Duo," Treize commanded, smiling as the boy nestled closer.

Duo surrendered to exhaustion, dozing under his lover's arm with an unaccustomed sense of security. Was this what it felt like to be safe, he wondered, just before the oblivion of sleep claimed him.

*************

Heero sneered at the security programming that protected Treize Khushrenada's suite. It had taken him barely an hour to hack into the protected files and give himself authority to enter the commander's private quarters. An easy job. He expected a little more from OZ. They were getting soft, it seemed.

Soft. What other word described a man like Treize Khushrenada? A man who played at being a soldier. A man who used others to do his fighting for him, who resorted to treachery to accomplish his aims. A man who allowed emotions to cloud his decisions. Treachery was the weapon of the weak. Emotion was the ruin of the strong.

His mission was to destroy the weak traitors. Both of them. All of them.


	7. Chapter 7

Duo slept as soundly as a child. Which he should have been, Treize thought, straightening the gold epaulets of his uniform. Anger spiked through him, a sudden fury at men who used children as their pawns. Had they no courage? No honor? Turning a child into a killer was as obscene a thing as Tsuberov building his mobile dolls.

For a long moment, he watched Duo sleeping, curled in the satin covers, his hair sweeping around him like a silkworm's unraveled cocoon. Before he put on his gloves, Treize granted himself permission to touch that glorious hair one more time. Duo wriggled, snuggling himself more deeply into the covers. Even in his sleep, the young Gundam pilot radiated sensuality. Treize thought of the last hour. No, Duo was no child. War and poverty had stolen his childhood long before he'd been trained as a pilot. Whoever had made him into an efficient executioner had simply finished the job.

Pulling on the spotless white gloves, Treize tried to ignore the question that had burned through his brain from the moment he had carried Duo to his room--what now? What was he to do with his prisoner? Keep him as a pet? Hardly. As soft and willing as Duo had been in bed--once he had put his fears behind him--Treize knew the boy would gut him or die trying if he suggested such a thing. He did not deceive himself into believing that Duo Maxwell was docile.

In fact, Treize would not have found him the least bit attractive if he had been truly weak. A moment of weakness, perhaps--no, not even weakness. Confusion, yes, and pain. Even fear. But those feelings did not make a man weak. They were merely the fire that tempered his strength. The true measure of a man was not whether he had emotions, but rather what he did with them.

He sat carefully on the edge of the bed, unable to leave just yet. He found looking at Duo an intense, visceral pleasure, like looking at an artist's masterwork. In sleep, he was more beautiful than awake, if possible, his face free of the haunting stress of war that was constant during his waking hours. What a shame to have to wake him. Treize bent his head to claim one more kiss from the sleeping pilot.

"Can't leave your toy alone, Colonel?"

Treize whirled to face the owner of the voice. In the doorway stood an OZ security officer with unruly dark hair and hard blue eyes. He held a gun, aimed at not at him, but at Duo. One of his own men? Treize looked more closely. The uniform did not fit quite well enough. An imposter. Treize had long grown used to the idea that an assassin might one day find him. But why was his gun pointed at Duo?

The young man glared at Treize. "What's the matter? Nothing to say?"

"Talking seems rather pointless." Treize listened for other intruders. Nothing. Only one, alone. He could take him, but not without sacrificing Duo.

"Agreed. Move away from the bed." The iceberg eyes flicked toward Duo. Treize saw the gun quiver slightly.

"No." Treize shifted to put himself between the gunman and the sleeping young man.

"I'll kill you," he threatened.

"You'll kill me anyway." Treize returned the unblinking glare.

The intruder circled to his left, again putting Duo in his line of fire. "As you wish. It makes no difference." He aimed his weapon.

Treize tensed, waiting for the optimum split-second to act. Before he could move, Duo launched himself from the bed toward the gunman, a flying mass of limbs and hair, bringing the intruder to the ground.

"Heero?" Staring at their attacker, Duo sat back abruptly on his bare rump, eyes round with shock. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Treize tried to make sense of the scene. He failed.

Heero's gaze seemed magnetized to Duo, who still sprawled naked on the floor, his hair spilling down his back and shoulders. Treize feinted slightly to his right. Without wavering, Heero said, "Move again and he dies now."

Treize stopped. "Why do you want to kill Duo?"

"My mission is to destroy the enemy. That includes traitors."

"Traitor?" Duo scrambled off the floor. "Me? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"How else do you explain this?"

Duo's eyes narrowed dangerously. Treize saw the subtle change in his demeanor. If he'd been a cat, the fur on his back would have been standing straight. "Give me one damn reason why I have to explain anything to you."

"Your mission--"

"I already accomplished my mission. I was just working on my escape," Duo snarled, glancing back once at Treize. "You're the one who owes me an explanation. Why did you follow me?"

"Because I knew you couldn't be trusted."

*************

Duo staggered back, as if Heero had dealt him a physical blow. He felt Treize behind him, the uniform buttons cold against his bare back. Gloved hands cupped his shoulders. "Why?"

"Anyone who is a slave to his body cannot be trusted. Anyone who gives in to emotion can be easily manipulated and is a potential traitor." Heero's voice sounded flat, almost mechanical, as if he played back a recording.

"You think I would sell you out? To OZ?" Oh God, that hurt. And it pissed him off. Rage and pain battled like a couple of renegade Gundams in his belly. "Go ahead, say it," Duo spat. "I can see it in your eyes."

Heero obliged, his voice more human but more frightening. "How long have you been Treize Khushrenada's slut?" The normally ice cold eyes burned. "How long have you been whoring for OZ?"

Duo winced. Slut, whore...Christ, it still hurt to be called names like that. And by Heero. That made it even worse. Treize's hands tightened on his shoulders, but he ignored the tacit offer of protection.

Heero must have seen the Colonel's small gesture. A contemptuous sneer pulled back the corners of his thin mouth.

"You bastard!" Duo's anger finally exploded. "Who the hell are you to get so self-righteous with me?" The cracks widened in the walls he'd built around his pain. The foundation of his sanity trembled. "Just because I feel things? Just because I can admit there's something that I need?"

Heero blinked, but showed no other response.

"Heero Yuy, you don't know shit about life. So listen close while I explain a few things. I was maybe eight years old the first time I got caught, buddy. A couple of guys chased me down in an empty lot. They took turns. And then they beat the shit out of me 'cuz I cried." His voice shook, but he mastered it. "Do you know how much it hurts when you're that little? Huh? Do you?"

Treize wrapped his arms around Duo, but he couldn't stop the onslaught of Duo's memories. From some distant part of his mind, Duo wondered who was shouting. He heard his own voice thick with anguish, but it was as if it belonged to someone else.

"I learned how to run, how to hide-eventually. But you know what I figured out after a while?" Duo clenched his hands so tightly that his nails cut into his flesh. "I found out that the rich guys didn't like to do it in alleys or empty lots. They asked nice, most of the time. And they liked warm, clean rooms. Guess what? So did I." He gasped for breath as the words continued to tumble out. "The first time I went with one of them, I didn't even know that mattresses belonged on beds, or that they were supposed to have sheets."

"Duo--" Agony choked Treize's voice. But Duo couldn't stop now. The walls had been breached.

"Have you ever just wanted to make a friend, have someone to talk to, but the other kids chased you away because you're dirty, threw rocks at you, called you names because you stank?" Distantly aware of Treize's arms restraining him, he continued to snarl at Heero. "But rich guys want you clean, so they let you use their baths. And if you're really good, sometimes they let you stay almost all night. So I learned to be good--damn good! Because I wanted to be clean and warm." His voice broke, finally. "Because I wanted to feel like someone wanted me for something, like I wasn't completely worthless."

Heero's face betrayed nothing. "Is that why you're with him?"

"Yeah. That's part of it." Duo's hand closed over Treize's gloved fingers.

"Part?"

"Like I said, Heero, I don't have to explain a damn thing to you."

In the same frigid voice, he asked, "Is that what you wanted from me?"

"I dunno. Probably." He felt drained, weak. If Treize hadn't been holding him, he'd have collapsed. Heero could go ahead and shoot him now for all he cared.

Duo sensed Treize glaring at Heero. He felt like a piece of raw meat that had been tossed into a cage with two hungry lions. It didn't help, either, that he was the only one not wearing clothes.

"Are you still going to kill us, Heero?" Treize asked.

"I'm still waiting for a reason not to."

"Then let me give you one," Treize said. "Duo, tell him what you discovered."

"You're sure?" Duo asked, surprised even though he knew how Treize felt about the mobile dolls.

"Yes. Go on."

Duo shrugged. "OZ is building some new kind of mobile suit, ones that are automated, totally computerized."

"Impossible," Heero said.

"Perhaps for the colonies. But not for OZ." Treize released Duo's arms, but not before moving him out of Heero's reach. "Imagine a war fought by machines. No casualties. No retreats, no errors. No fatigue. No reason to ever stop the fighting."

It would be like fighting a whole army of Heero Yuys, Duo thought. "There's only the prototype down there now, but it looks like they're not far from starting production."

"They aren't," Treize confirmed. "Unless you do something about it."

"Me?" Heero scrutinized the OZ commander.

"You and Duo." Treize turned to Duo, who was pulling on his clothes. "If you're able. How's your ankle?"

"I'll be just fine." He flashed Treize a lopsided grin. "Just give me a chance to do my stuff!"

"Even if we destroy this facility, they have the technology. What's to stop OZ from rebuilding?" Heero had lowered his gun, but still appeared unconvinced.

"Nothing, " Treize admitted. "And the next base will not be under my command. The Foundation already distrusts me because I've made no secret of how I feel about the mobile dolls. I imagine they will move the facility to outer space, beyond my reach. But it will delay them, long enough for the colonies to prepare."

Duo and Heero exchanged glances. Despite everything, they were both Gundam pilots. They knew who would fight the mobile dolls.

For the second time that night, Duo asked Treize, "Why are you doing this?"

Momentarily, Duo looked into the eyes of a man he had met on a cold, lonely bridge. Then the OZ colonel took control. "Let us say that I am trying to keep the playing field level."

Heero looked skeptically at Treize. "You're playing a dangerous game, Colonel."

"I know. Those who play with fire often get burned."

Duo grinned again. "But at least they don't freeze to death."

Treize returned the smile, understanding in his sapphire eyes. "Exactly."

*************

Heero followed Duo through the lower corridors to the engineering labs, wondering as he did if he'd totally lost his mind. How, he asked himself, did he come to be collaborating not only with Duo, but with Treize Khushrenada? A mere hour ago, he'd intended to kill both of them.

Destroying the mobile dolls would do more damage to OZ at this time than killing Treize, who had admitted that his leadership of the organization was tenuous at the moment. And he had no definite evidence that Duo had actually betrayed them. It was logical, he assured himself, for him to take his present course.

He watched Duo closely, aware that he had begun to limp slightly. "Are you capable of completing this mission?"

"God damn it, I'll be fine." Duo shot him a murderous look. "We're almost there."

They entered the lab and found it empty. Treize had told them Tsuberov and his team would not report for another hour, at least. Duo led Heero to the prototype mobile doll. It looked like any other mobile suit to him, but he understood Treize's opposition, even as he understood Tsuberov's motives. Fortunately, Treize's goals coincided with their own at the moment.

"Let's blow the fucking sonofabitch up and get the hell out of here." Duo began to set the charges.

He's swearing like a sailor, Heero noted. He'd discovered some time ago that the amount of profanity Duo managed to cram into a single sentence was an accurate gauge of his emotional state. Without responding, Heero assisted, making certain that the crates of additional parts would be destroyed along with the prototype.

They made an efficient team, even though they did not speak to one another unless absolutely necessary.

"Ready?" Duo asked, the detonator in his hand.

Heero nodded.

"Ten minutes," Duo said. He activated the electronic fuse, then dropped the device on the floor and crushed it under his heel.

They ran for the door.

Heero's accurate memory guided them up through the lower corridors. They should have had time to reach the exits at ground level, but Duo was slowing down. They were still severel levels below that when a rumble deep within the base shook the floors. Alarms began to clatter, emergency lighting flashed on. The corridors suddenly filled with people, some running for the exits as the evacuation warning sounded, others pushing through crowded halls to reach their duty stations.

Using the chaos as a cover, they allowed themselves to be swept along with the crowd toward the exits. Heero grabbed Duo's wrist, dragging him along, forcing him to keep up with the stream of people. "So we won't be separated," he explained, feeling Duo about to protest.

Outside, groups of workers milled around in panic, looking for familiar faces. Soldiers guarded the transports and the gates, allowing no one to leave the immediate area. As Heero watched, the guards began organizing the frightened workers into lines.

"They're checking everyone," he said in a low voice.

"Shit." Duo looked around the fenced area. "We'd better make ourselves scarce for a while."

"Storage sheds," Heero said, indicating a cluster of buildings at the far end of the yard.

Duo nodded. They pushed through the crowd, Heero's hand still gripping Duo's wrist. They reached the sheds and discovered one that had been left open, probably when the lab exploded and everyone had run to find out what happened. Together, they ducked inside. Heero finally relinquished his grip on Duo and pulled the door shut.

Duo sagged to the floor, swearing savagely under his breath.

Heero knelt next to him. "You said you were fine."

"I said I'd *be* fine."

Duo often claimed proudly that he never lied, but he had more ways of selectively telling the truth than anyone Heero had ever known. "Splitting hairs."

"So?" Duo didn't look up at him, just sat rubbing his swollen ankle. "What's it to you?"

"Hn." Heero leaned back against the wall. "Injuries create a liability. I need accurate data to assess the situation."

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk like a fucking computer?" Duo's voice cut through the cold air, uncharacteristically sharp.

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too fucking much?" Heero snapped back.

The two pilots glared angrily at each other. Duo was the first to look away.

"I know," he said so softly that Heero couldn't be sure he was meant to hear.

"You know what?"

"That I talk too much."

Heero's stomach lurched. He felt an insane desire to put his arm around Duo's shoulders and apologize. Instead, he said, "Then don't."

"Fuck you," Duo said wearily.

He sounds exhausted, Heero realized. "You rest," he ordered. "I'll take the watch."

"Fine." Duo lay down, his back to Heero. "If you're still gonna kill me, at least don't bother to wake me up this time, 'K?"

Heero didn't answer. In a very few minutes, Duo's regular breathing told him the other pilot slept. Duo could sleep anywhere, it seemed. He watched the slight rise and fall of Duo's chest, the long braid as it draped over his shoulder, brushing across his slender back. Even now, even after finding Duo naked in Treize's bed, his fingers itched to touch that hair. And then, another part of his mind added, to wrap it around his damn fool neck and strangle him with it.


	8. Chapter 8

Run   
Run duck hide scramble run squirm dodge run hide...Dark...they can't find you in the dark...can't grab you hit you make you hurt ...can't see them either...quiet too quiet...where are they?...scared don't cry don't cry so scared don't cry they'll hear you find you hurt you if you   
cry... Hear them....closer...where? can't see can't see don't cry...no...go away please go away please don't hurt please don't make me cry 

Duo clawed his way to consciousness, trying to escape the nightmare. It hunted him down, dragged at him with hard, merciless hands. "No..." He thrashed as he tried to push the hands away from him. Too strong. Always too strong. 

But there had been someone...someone strong who hadn't hurt him. Someone who might help him. A powerful body, but so gentle. Who was it? His terror-soaked mind grasped for the memory. A name coalesced, and he reached for it desperately. 

"Treize." 

************** 

"Treize..." 

Heero jerked back from Duo's quaking body as though he'd been shot. The name burned through him, radiating pain from its point of entry somewhere near his heart. 

Duo tossed and whimpered again. His moans grew louder and Heero clapped a hand over Duo's mouth, silencing him. With his other hand, he pressed Duo's shoulder to the floor in an attempt to still his flailing. Restraining him had the opposite effect, though, and Duo's struggles increased, his cries a keening wail behind the gag of Heero's hand. 

"Duo!" Heero shook Duo's shoulder. "Duo, wake up!" He shook harder, his fingers digging into the boy's flesh. 

Violet eyes snapped open. They held no recognition, only helpless horror. 

"Be quiet." Heero growled, refusing to relax his grip. His conditioning screamed at him to choke the life out of the boy before he alerted their enemies. He ignored the order despite the panic that blossomed in his belly at his disobedience. "Shut up, damn it! I don't want to have to kill you!" 

Heero didn't realize he'd said the words aloud, but their effect on Duo was dramatic. His body went limp as he ceased fighting; the frightened wailing stopped. Relieved, Heero released the boy, but Duo's childish whisper chilled him. 

"Won't cry. I promise." The boy swallowed, his huge eyes fixed on Heero, pleading for something the Japanese pilot could only dimly imagine. 

His first impulse was to slap Duo into awareness. But the tight, stricken face, expecting to be hurt but desperately hoping for something else, stopped him. Awkwardly, he stroked Duo's cheek, startled to find it damp. In a voice he hoped was soothing, he said quietly, "It's all right, Duo. It's Heero. I'm not going to hurt you." 

The boy blinked. "H-heero?" 

"Hn." Embarrassed by his ministrations and thoroughly confused by his own response to Duo's nightmare, he pulled his hand away. "Are you..." All right? Afraid? "...awake?" 

Duo nodded. He sat up, wincing as he forced his cold-stiffened body to move. How much of his dream did Duo remember? Judging from his pinched mouth and haunted eyes, he recalled far too much of it. 

Did he remember calling for Treize? 

Duo leaned back against the wall. The thin metal gave slightly under the pressure from his shoulders and he squirmed a little to find a more comfortable position. The shed was as frigid as a meat locker, and Heero knew from experience how cold intensified every ache until even a bruise was agony. Treize might have treated his prisoner well, but he doubted the guards had been as kind. Duo hugged his chest, shivering violently. One hand clutched the end of his braid, like a child clinging to a favorite toy for security. With a force that rocked him, Heero was suddenly aware of how small and lostóhow vulnerableóDuo seemed. 

He reached a tentative hand toward the boy. If ever someone needed to be touched, it was Duo. But Duo had cried out for Treize. What good would his offer of comfort do? Heero let his hand drop back to his side. 

The movement must have caught Duo's attention. He looked up, his eyes tired, wary. "So you didn't kill me after all." 

"It's no longer necessary." Heero clenched his fists. The look in Duo's eyes hurt. And he didn't have a clue what to do about it. 

************* 

"Thanks a hell of a lot, pal. Damn glad to hear my death is ëno longer necessary.' I can sleep at night now." Liar. Perfect Soldier chalked up another "mission accomplished," but guess who got the bad dreams? 

Nothing else, no other explanation offered. Heero had battered down his defenses, leaving him open and scalding like a half-healed burn, and it was nothing more to him than the fucking mission. 

"Hn." 

"You really know how to win friends and influence people, y'know that?" 

Duo tried to still the tremors that rippled through his body, aftershocks of his nightmare. How many months would it be this time before he was able to push the memories back into their box?

He rested his head on his knees. God, what had he been thinking, going to bed with an OZ officer? But Treize didn't seem like an OZ officer, not once he took off that uniform. Duo couldn't forget the way Treize had touched him when he thought he was still sleeping, as if he were one of those expensive antiques the Colonel collected, something that might break if it weren't treated very carefully. Like he was something valuable. 

Why couldn't Heero ever treat him like that? 

No use asking that now. He could forget that. Not that Heero had wanted him in the first place, but he sure as hell wouldn't be interested in Treize Khushrenada's leftovers. 

Duo stole a look at Heero. The other pilot sat on a crate, one knee drawn up under his chin, hands clasped around his leg. He liked Heero's hands. The first time he'd realized that was back when they had just come to Earth, and he helped Heero repair Wing. Or rather, he watched Heero repair Wing, because Heero flatly refused every gesture of friendship Duo made. So Duo had been reduced to studying him, chattering artlesslyómostly to himselfóand becoming fascinated by a pair of square, capable hands. Even then, he'd wondered what it would feel like to have those hands touching him. That night, and most nights afterward, he'd fantasized about Heero handling his body as skillfully as he handled his tools. 

Screw that. He'd blown that fantasy to hell, and all because, as Heero had pointed out, he thought with his dick. 

Must be nice to be like Heero, at least sometimes. Now, for instance. It would make everything a lot easier if his feelings had an on-off switch. If he could say, "Wanting you is no longer necessary." But that would be pretty much like saying, "Breathing is no longer necessary." Convenient, but untrue. Too bad, though, that his training had been so different from Heero's, no lessons on eliminating "inefficient" emotions. 

Lucky Heero. He didn't have to feel anything he didn't want to. 

****************** 

Heero Yuy was afraid. 

He'd never met an enemy who frightened him. Enemies existed only as data points in a constant equation of destruction. His own death didn't scare him. He'd lost that fear so long ago he no longer remembered ever possessing it. His training had even eradicated a human being's only two instinctive fears. 

So why did Duo Maxwell terrify him? 

He tried analyzing the problem. Duo's piloting skills equaled his own, but he was capable of human error like any pilot. Physically, the other boy could not match his own engineered strength. He might be smaller and faster, but Heero's greater endurance cancelled any advantage there. His mind was as quick as Heero's, but he lacked discipline. What frightened him then? 

A long, brown braid that Duo refused to part with, despite its impracticality. A pair of wide, blue-violet eyes that couldn't conceal the pain or fear that hid behind a clown's mask. A cock-eyed grin that somehow managed to be both foolish and sweet at once. A slender, pale body shrouded under the false chastity of a priest's garments. Heero had no shield against those weapons. 

No blow from an enemy had injured him like hearing Duo call Treize's name. But Duo looked so miserable, huddled there on the floor. And that, Heero discovered, hurt even more. 

"Duo," he began hesitantly, his voice husky with fear. "Do you want to go back to Treize?" 

Duo jumped at the sudden sound. "Huh?" 

Heero felt as though he had his hand on his Gundam's self-detonation button. "If you want to return to him, I won't stop you." 

"Why would I want to go back to Treize?" Duo blanched. The confusion in his face changed to sickened realization, a wound that cut far too deep for anger. "You really do think I'm OZ's whore, don't you?" 

"No!" The denial burst from Heero with a force that startled him. 

Duo snorted in obvious disbelief. 

"I regret calling you...what I called you." He couldn't say the words. He couldn't be responsible for that wounded, anguished look, not again. Why had it never occurred to him that Duo had his own scars? But it hadn't. 

"You regret?" Duo laughed, although it sounded more like he was choking. "I didn't think you made mistakes." 

"I make plenty of mistakes." 

"Yeah?" Duo stretched out, crossed his arms over his chest. "Name one." 

"Field Marshall Noventa." 

Duo winced. "That one doesn't count. You...we were tricked." He avoided Heero's eyes, apparently remembering that he had just slept with the man who had duped them into killing the Alliance leaders. "Try again." 

"You." 

"What do you mean, me?" 

"I don't know what to do with you. How to treat you. I only know that everything I do is wrong."

Duo's eyes widened. 

"I know I hurt you. I can't even say I didn't mean to, because I did. But I'm sorry." Wasn't Duo going to say anything? Heero found himself talking to fill the empty space between them. "I can't make it better. I can't change what I did to you, any more than I can change what those men did to you. I can't do anything about the past." 

Heero stared at the wall of the shed, a spot beyond the other boy's shoulder. Looking anyplace was easier than looking in Duo's eyes. He would lose himself in those eyes. "I'm not sure what I want, Duo. But I can tell you what I don't want. I don't want to hurt you any more. I don't want you to be afraid of me. I don't want you to come on to me because you want a warm bed to sleep in." As he spoke, his desire slowly clarified and he struggled to put his nebulous need into words. "I want you to come to me because you want to. Not because you need to. Not because there's no one else to take you. Not for any reason except that you want me." 

******************* 

Duo felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. "You want to say that again?" 

"No." 

Duo frowned, looking Heero up and down. "Looks like Heero Yuy. Same charming smile, same well-groomed appearance. Sure doesn't talk like Heero Yuy, though. Must be an imposter. Yep, has to be, because I just heard this guy admit he makes mistakes." 

"Hiding again?" 

Run duck hide scramble run squirm dodge run hide 

Ah, hell. Sometimes Heero didn't understand a damn thing about people and sometimes he understood way too   
much. "Yeah, old habits die hard." 

"Does it help?"

**************

Dark...they can't find you in the dark.

***************

"Sometimes. Sometimes not. It's worth a try, though." 

"I wish you wouldn't hide from me." 

"Wish I could trust you enough not to have to." Shit. That wasn't at all what he meant to say. But Heero's unexpected honesty had startled him. And since when did he engage his brain before his mouth anyway? 

Duo suddenly felt embarrassed. Damn it, this was Heero, for God's sake, and this scene was starting to play like something from a cheesy old movie. "You want to tell me what's going on? I thought I knew you, and this sure as hell doesn't sound like you." 

Heero looked at him. No, not exactly at him. Sort of in his general direction. Was Heero embarrassed, too? No way. Couldn't be. Could it? 

"What's going on is that I can't function efficiently without you. I made foolish errors, maybe fatal ones. We aren't out of this yet. I've lied to myself about my motives and jeopardized the mission because of it. I can't ignore you or what you do. IóI appear to need you, Duo." 

It wasn't the most romantic declaration, but this was Heero, after all. Not quite what he'd fantasized about hearing, but maybe as close as he'd ever get. "I guess if you can need me, I can trust you. A little." 

He flashed his generous grin and was shocked to see Heero smile briefly in return. 

"I'll take that. For now." 

Heero moved a step closer. Duo realized a split second before it happened what Heero meant to do, but pure shock held him motionless. Heero kissed him, hard. His arms, all wiry muscle under the stolen OZ uniform, anchored them together. His questing tongue parted the smaller boy's lips and ignited a slow burn that spread through Duo's arms and legs. 

***************** 

Duo melted against him with a tiny mewl that a startled Heero felt as much as heard. He would have been less surprised if Duo had punched him, even though the braided pilot had agreed to trust him. A little. 

How far would a little trust take him? Tentatively, Heero ran his hands over Duo's taut, lean arms even as his tongue drew more kittenish noises from the boy. When his cautious explorations met with no resistance, he grew more bold, sliding one hand under the long braid, brushing his fingers across the back of Duo's neck. He smiled into the kiss as he felt the willow-slim body in his arms shiver, and he allowed his hands to roam down to the small of the   
boy's back. 

Duo's body responded eagerly, as if he were hungry for more. He pushed their hips together, and Heero could feel the hard mound of his erection through the layers of their stolen clothing. Heero's grip still welded them together, and Duo began to run his hands along his partner's back, mimicking the rough caresses he'd received. 

Heero felt his control slipping. He meant to go slow for Duo, but his resolve rapidly deteriorated under those persistent hands. He grasped one of the boy's wrists, stopping his greedy fondling. "No," he told himself, growling his frustration in a low moan. Whatever it took, he refused to hurt his Duo again. 

***************** 

Duo's body shuddered with beggared desire, but his mind knew only the steely grip on his arm. He knew what would come next, and he closed his eyes, dreading it. Not the act, the hurried coupling, frantic with heat; he could lose himself in the sex, no problem. But after... They despised him when he enjoyed it and hated him when he didn't. And then they left, and he was alone again. Always. 

Heero only wanted to use him. He said he needed Duo, but what did that mean? He was no different than the others. 

Need and grief wrestled for possession of his fantasy. How long had he dreamed of being more to a lover than just a body to be used and forgotten once the craving had been satisfied? But look at him, humping up to Heero like a dog in heat, willing to spread for anyone who whistled. He couldn't blame Heero for treating him this way. He'd asked for it. 

Still...just once. Just once he'd like to have been something more than a convenience. With a stifled sob, he gave up his dream and surrendered to Heero. 

***************** 

Heero pulled back at the sound of Duo's choked cry. "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" 

Duo shook his head. "No, no. It's all right...not your fault." 

So why did Duo seem as though he were about to shatter into tiny bits? Heero released the boy's wrist and raised his hand to the chestnut head tucked against his shoulder. Tenderness sat uneasily on him, but he stroked the soft hair with clumsy gentleness. The feeling that he held something infinitely precious overwhelmed him, and he pulled Duo close in a sheltering, protective embrace. 

"Hn. I thought you promised to trust me." He tilted the heart-shaped face, lightly brushing his thumb across a dark bruise. "When we get out of here, I'm going to make you forget about him."

"Does this mean you like me?" 

Heero frowned. Always the joke, even now. But something in those amethyst eyes made him realize Duo wasn't joking. Heero's answer mattered. 

"Baka. Of course." 

Duo said nothing but snaked his hand behind Heero's head and pulled his face close. He closed his eyes and hesitantly, almost shyly, offered his mouth to be kissed. Heero accepted, the velvet of Duo's lips warming under his own. Keeping his own eyes open, he watched the nuances of Duo's face as the kiss deepened. His partner's forehead creased as though he worried. Heero cupped his hand over Duo's cheek and nudged the pliant mouth open with his tongue, languidly stroking his other hand along Duo's spine. Slowly, the tension in the other boy's face eased. He nuzzled against Heero's hand like a cat demanding affection from its master. Heero pressed his palm flat   
against the small of Duo's back, pushing them together. He worked his thigh between Duo's legs, groaning himself as the smaller boy rubbed his erection against his leg. Gripping Duo's buttocks in a possessive, agonizing vice, he sought friction against his own hardness. Duo panted softly next to his ear, his hands clutching at Heero's sleeves as their clothes thwarted his efforts to meld their bodies closer. The braided pilot whimpered in frustration. He moved   
faster against Heero's thigh, but the heavy cloth of his coveralls prevented him from achieving his goal. 

"Shit...Heero..." Duo squirmed against him, nearly sobbing with disappointment. 

"What? What do you want me to do?" Heero looked into the half-lidded eyes, glazed with yearning. 

"Anything. Touch me...please..." 

Heero shifted, turning Duo with a roughness that betrayed his determination to be gentle. He drew Duo close to him until the round little backside fit against him, then draped Duo's leg over his own. This time, Duo didn't fight him. Instead, he grasped one of Heero's hands, pushed it between his legs. Heero needed no more encouragement. He cupped his hand over the quivering length of Duo's erection, his fingers searching out the head of the boy's cock   
through the barrier of clothing, rubbing it with his thumb. With his palm, he applied pressure to the shaft, stroking feverishly, losing himself in the challenge of making the boy squirm and cry out for more. 

Duo jerked against his hand, flinging his head back against Heero's shoulder. "God...don't stop...." 

Heero gritted his teeth, vowing to make the other boy come before he took his own release. 

The door of the shed slid open, bathing the two young men in sunlight. A tall man stood silhouetted against the pale winter morning. Duo gasped as Heero's hand tightened on him involuntarily. Heero quickly pulled his hand away and moved Duo off his lap as the man chuckled. 

"Well." The rich, cultured voice rumbled in amusement. "I'm pleased to see the two of you have resolved your differences." 

 

To Be Continued.....


	9. Chapter 9

Feeble winter sun glinted off fences, flashed across the metal plating of idling carriers that fogged the morning air with exhaust. Heero scarcely noticed the meager warmth on his face, his attention divided between Treize’s tall, straight figure in front of him and the hesitant, shuffling steps that followed behind. 

As they crossed the compound, Heero heard the low-voiced comments that followed in their wake. He ignored them—but then, most of them were directed at Duo. Even tired and dirty as he was, dressed in the shapeless clothing of a service tech, Duo drew admiring stares—and sometimes more—as they trailed behind Treize. When Heero stole a glance back at the other pilot, he met with an unhappy grimace, but whether the frown was due to anger or frustration or pain, Heero couldn’t tell. 

Duo swore softly as he stumbled again. Heero stiffened, wanting desperately to turn around and offer his arm, some sort of comfort. But an OZ security officer wouldn’t pay that much attention to a maintenance worker. He dared not take the risk. 

Treize must have heard, too, because he stopped and turned. For a moment, his sapphire gaze bore directly into Heero’s eyes. The pilot felt the force of Treize’s awareness, as though he tried to tell Heero something without speaking. But what? Heero felt as though something important hovered just beyond his understanding. Treize continued to glare at him, assessing him . Then the OZ commander stepped past the scowling young man and put a hand under Duo’s elbow, supporting him. 

“It’s only a little farther. Can you make it?” 

Duo nodded, refusing to look at either man. 

Heero felt helpless. He only watched as Treize let Duo lean against him, his arm slipping around the slender waist for support. A little of the tight, pained look left the boy’s face as Treize lightly held him, but still he didn’t look up. 

Heero clenched his fists. I should have helped him. But I was too worried about our cover, about the mission. 

Treize briefly brushed his gloved fingers across Duo’s cheek, causing Duo to lift his head at last. Heero winced at the softness in Treize’s face as a small, intimate smile curved the Colonel’s mouth. 

That should be me. No one should look at him like that but me. 

Even worse was the look Duo gave Treize in return. Heero’s throat tightened. 

How can I make him look at me that way? What do I have to do? 

Heero moved close to Duo’s side, taking his arm as if he would drag the other boy away from the Colonel if necessary. “I’ll help him.” 

For a moment, the rivalry between the two men smoldered, threatening to burst into flame. Heero’s fingers tightened possessively on Duo’s bicep, drawing a sharp hiss from the youth. 

Duo glared at both of them, jerking himself out of their grasp. 

“I don’t need help. From either of you.” 

“Of course not. My apologies.” Treize smiled again and stepped away, obviously expecting Heero to do the same. 

“Hn.” Heero took Duo’s arm again. He opened his mouth to object, but Heero glowered him into silence. “Don’t argue.” 

Heero swore approval glimmered briefly in Treize’s eyes before the OZ commander turned away. The Japanese pilot slid his arm around Duo’s slender waist, lifted the boy’s arm over his shoulders. A sprained ankle might not be a serious injury, but Heero knew it could hurt as much as a break. 

“Try not to put your weight on it.” 

“Heero—“ 

“Shut up.” 

Treize motioned for both of them to be silent. “Quiet. I don’t want you to attract too much attention. Come this way.” 

Heero eyed him suspiciously. “Where are you taking us?” 

“I can’t get you out of here for a while. It won’t be safe until the uproar dies down a bit. I’m afraid you’ll have to hide just a little longer. I thought I would take you back to my rooms. Unless, of course, you found that shed more comfortable?” He raised a single eyebrow. 

Heero nearly declared that the shed suited them just fine, but Duo spoke up first. 

“No way. I’m freezing. Lead on, Colonel, sir.” Duo grinned, tugging on Heero’s arm. “C’mon. And stop looking like you ate something sour.” 

“Hn.” Heero studied Duo, seeing for the first time the tension under the cheerfulness. A tic twitched his eyelid, his bright eyes darted back and forth, constantly scanning for trouble. Under the loose coveralls, wiredrawn muscles strained with edginess. “Duo…” 

The boy’s grin faded. In a low voice, he said, “Look, we gotta get back to the other guys and tell them about the mobile dolls. It’s only a matter of time before they start rebuilding somewhere else. And…and I’d just as soon get out of OZ’s way.” 

“Since when?” 

“Hey, it’s one thing to tackle a bunch of Ozzies in Deathscythe. That’s fun. But out here, just us and a whole lot of them…they play kind of rough, y’know?” 

Unconsciously, Duo lifted his free hand to his cheek, where the security guard’s handiwork darkened the smooth ivory of his skin. Heero tightened his arm around the tiny waist as if he would protect the braided pilot from all of OZ if necessary. 

“Do you trust him, then?” He nodded toward Treize. 

“Yeah.” The quick, crooked grin again. “A little.” 

“Then let’s go.” 

Duo’s eyes widened, pleasure lighting them as he realized that Heero trusted his judgment. Heero felt an unfamiliar tug in his midsection. I didn’t know my approval meant so much to him. 

They followed Treize through an unmarked doorway that opened to the Colonel’s touch. A softly lit, obviously private corridor took them to his rooms. 

“Convenient.” Heero helped Duo to a chair, frowning slightly as the slight pilot sagged back, eyes closed. 

“Sometimes it’s useful to be able to avoid even my own guards.” Treize turned toward Duo as though he were drawn. “We won’t be going anywhere for a few hours. You might as well be comfortable. Shall I order food?” 

Duo’s eyes snapped open. “Food?” 

Treize laughed. “I might have known that would get your attention. I’ll attend to it. In the meantime, make yourselves at ease. If you’d like to clean up, the bath’s in there. Or just rest, if you prefer.” 

The Colonel left them. Duo stretched, yawning. 

“I’m gonna take him up on the shower. You mind?” 

“Why should I mind?” Heero felt a sudden rush of warmth through his groin at the thought of Duo in the shower, naked and wet. Mind? God, no… 

Duo shrugged, then stood, wincing a little. “I’ll be glad when we can crash for a couple of days.” A self-deprecating smile plied the corners of his mouth. “Next time I volunteer for a mission, smack me, will you?” 

Heero swallowed, his mouth dry. “Smack you? Duo, I-I wouldn’t…” 

“Geez, Heero, it’s just an expression. I didn’t mean it. You don’t have to take me so literally.” Suddenly, a smile lit his tired face. “But it’s nice to know you wouldn’t.” 

“Duo…” Heero felt at a loss. He’d never been particularly good with words. And how could he put into words feelings he didn’t really understand himself? 

Duo looked away, as if Heero’s uncertainty embarrassed him. He began shedding his clothes. “Let me know when it’s time to eat, okay?” 

Heero watched Duo kick himself free of the grimy coveralls, pulling the band from his hair as he did. He tossed his head until his hair cascaded down his back, then headed for the shower, his steps uneven as he favored his aching leg. As the door closed with a quiet snick, Heero realized he’d been staring and that his nails dug into the palms of his clenched fists. 

He backed away from the closed door, his breath suspiciously ragged as he visualized slim hands lathered with soap, skimming over planes and valleys of pale skin. He wanted nothing more than to kick open that fragile barrier and drag Duo to the floor, make him squeal, make him beg. Heero wiped his damp palms on his pants. 

No. Not that way. But…how? 

Before his nerve failed him, he strode through the room into Treize’s office. The Colonel sat at his desk, staring at a security screen. When he heard Heero, he shut down the viewer and raised his eyes. 

“Breakfast isn’t here yet—“ 

“I didn’t come to check on the food.” 

“No?” Treize steepled his fingers and leaned back, waiting. 

“I want to ask you something.” 

“Ask.” 

“About Duo.” 

Steel-blue eyes narrowed slightly. “What about Duo?” 

“I want to know what you did to him.” 

“Heero, I should think that would be obvious. You found him in my bed.” 

“That’s not what I mean.” Heero stared steadily at the handsome man in his impeccable uniform. “I want to know how to love him. The way that you did. I want him to look at me the way he looks at you.” 

“And why should I tell you that?” 

“Because you can’t keep him and you know it. But you can help him to be happy. If you help me.” 

****** 

Treize blinked. He allowed no other reaction to cross his face, but his mind reeled. “Teach you to love him?” 

“Yes.” Cold blue eyes glared the challenge at him. “Unless you’re afraid.” 

Treize smiled faintly. Heero was still young enough to think that such a taunt would goad him. Young enough to have no idea what he asked. 

But if he truly means it, how can I deny him? He’s right, I can’t keep Duo. But perhaps I can give him a partner who will care for him. 

Treize scrutinized the young man. Heero quivered with barely-controlled desire. Small signs gave away his uncharacteristic nervousness—red lines on his palms where his nails had scored his flesh, flecks of blood on his lips where he’d bitten them, his whole appearance a mosaic of desire and confusion. 

“Heero, Duo is as capable of using his body as a weapon as you or I. Don’t you think I know he slept with me to escape his cell? It meant nothing to him.” 

“You’re lying, Colonel, but whether it’s to me or to yourself, I’m not sure.” 

Treize reminded himself that he must not underestimate these pilots simply because of their youth. He thought back to the night he’d met Duo on the bridge. Duo wanted Heero every bit as much as Heero wanted him. I wouldn’t do this otherwise…but this is what he wants. He told me so from the start. 

“Why do you need my instruction? It seems to me that he shares your desire.” 

The Japanese pilot looked away. When he spoke, his voice sounded lost. “Every time I try to love him, I hurt him.” 

“As far as I know, that’s the definition of love.” Treize sighed. “Very well.” 

“You’ll do it? You’ll tell me?” 

“Not precisely.” 

Suspicion darkened Heero’s features. “What do you mean, then?” 

“How do you expect me to teach you if I don’t show you?” Heero backed away a step, his eyes narrow. Treize smirked at the young man’s discomfiture. So naïve… “Make love to him. I’ll help you.” 

“Both of us?” Heero considered Treize’s proposal, clearly uncertain at first. But as he mulled over the possibilities, his eyes widened. “Hn. Easy enough to suggest it. But what if he won’t?” 

Treize laughed aloud and clapped his hand on Heero’s shoulder. “I suspect that won’t be a problem.” 

***** 

Duo closed his eyes as water streamed over him in soothing, warm rivulets. He’d finished washing his hair and his body, but he didn’t want the sensation to end. Steam clouded the shower doors, the mirrors, the shining chrome surfaces of the bath, and still he lingered. 

Clean and warm. God, it feels so damn good. 

He’d borrowed Treize’s soap, and the steam smelled of it, spice and sandalwood. 

Like him… 

Treize. OZ commander, confidant, lover—they all tangled in his mind. He couldn’t think of Treize as “the enemy” any more. Not the only man who’d ever cared about giving Duo pleasure. It seemed to him that if he concentrated, he could still feel those strong hands on his body, teasing, arousing him like no one ever had before. 

Except, maybe, Heero. Heero, who’d promised to make him forget about Treize. 

But I don’t want to forget! 

And Heero. What was he going to do about Heero? What happened in the shed, everything Heero said and did—was that for real? He leaned against the smooth tiles and tipped back his head, letting the water wash over his face like rain. 

Ah, fuck, Maxwell, how do you manage to keep getting yourself in shit like this? 

Not even Treize had an unlimited supply of hot water, and Duo resigned himself to ending his shower. He shut off the spray, reached for a towel, rubbed his face against the thick, soft loops of terry. He twisted it around his hair, wringing out most of the wetness. Wrapping another towel around his waist, he stepped out of the shower, shaking the remaining water from his   
long mop. 

As he opened the door to Treize’s bedroom, the aroma of breakfast greeted him. His stomach gurgled, impatient, reminding him he hadn’t eaten in almost two days. He realized he’d been aware of his empty stomach for some time, but he’d ignored it, like he’d done for most of his life. Three years of more-or-less regular meals hadn’t erased a lifetime’s habit of hunger. 

Treize and Heero sat at a small table spread with a cloth that had the sheen of heavy linen. Steam rose from silver serving dishes so abundant they crowded the china place settings. Treize filled two fluted crystal glasses with champagne, handed one to Heero, and sipped from the other himself. 

“Sit down.” 

“I’m not dressed,” Duo protested weakly as he sniffed the spicy sausages. 

“Obviously.” Heero pushed a chair toward him with his foot. “Eat.” 

Duo shrugged and sat, piling his plate with the unfamiliar dishes. Hunger overwhelmed his good manners, always precarious at best, and he ate with gusto. 

“Here,” Treize said, smiling indulgently. “Try some jam on the grenki.” Without waiting for Duo’s response, he slathered strawberry jam on the slices of battered, fried bread. 

“Where’s my champagne?” 

“None for you, I’m afraid.” Treize laid two pills in front of Duo. “Take these. They’re analgesics.” 

Obedient, he swallowed the painkillers, washing them down with fruit juice. Soon, the nagging misery in his ankle faded and he felt the leftover tautness of pain ease from his body. He ate in blissful silence, savoring the tastes and the feeling of a full stomach. 

Heero drained his glass of champagne and Treize refilled it. Doesn’t he know he’s supposed to drink that stuff slow? He’ll be drunk on his ass if he isn’t careful. But then, Heero seldom drank alcohol at all. So why was he guzzling champagne like it was soda pop? 

Duo felt the other pilot’s eyes on him as he spooned a dish that appeared to be eggs in some kind of sauce onto his plate. He looked up, only to be startled by the hot, hungry glare that met his. Confused, he turned toward Treize—and found himself staring into a mirror image of Heero’s rapacious eyes. 

Tension seeped back into his body, but he felt neither the stress of pain nor the heaviness of fear. This tension began as an anxious flutter in his belly, spread downward to blossom into a warm, aching pulse. Suddenly aware of how little the towel around his waist concealed, Duo blushed. 

Heero smirked slightly, and Duo quickly lowered his gaze. 

Flustered, he tried to go back to eating, but found he couldn’t swallow. His fork trembled slightly as he lifted it to his mouth. Treize cupped his hand over Duo’s, squeezing gently. 

“What’s wrong, pretty one? Are you still cold?” 

Duo shook his head, nervously avoiding looking at either of his companions. What’s up with them, anyway? 

Treize leaned closer to wipe Duo’s chin with his napkin. “Greedy. You’ve spilled sour cream.” 

Duo caught his breath as the long, elegant fingers lingered on his lips. But when Heero reached across the table, mimicking Treize’s caress, he almost choked. 

“H-heero?” 

“You missed a spot.” Heero rubbed his thumb across Duo’s bottom lip. 

“You mean this one?” Treize tilted up Duo’s chin, then bent and flicked his tongue across the spot Heero indicated. 

Duo opened his mouth, but found no sound would come out. 

“It’s a miracle, Treize. He’s speechless.” 

A chuckled rumbled deep in Treize’s throat as he trailed his tongue along the line of Duo’s jaw. 

Are they…no, it’s the drugs. I’m hallucinating. This can’t be happening. Can it? 

“Duo,” Treize murmured against his ear. “Heero wants to know how to love you. Will you let me show him?” 

“Sh-show him?” 

Duo felt Treize’s fingers tangle in his hair. Warm breath poured over his neck as Treize lowered his mouth to suck lightly on Duo’s flesh. He squirmed, trying in vain to conceal his immediate, intense reaction. 

“Mmmm…” Treize hummed against his ear, his fingers tracing the edge of Duo’s towel. “Your body knows what your answer ought to be, pretty one.” 

Heero had moved close to his other side. He stroked Duo’s cheek, smoothed back a damp lock of hair. Duo bit his lip to keep from groaning as the combination of Heero’s touch and Treize’s continued fondling set him afire. 

“Duo? I want to be able to do this right. I know you liked what he did to you. I want to learn how to make you feel that way, too.” 

Duo swallowed. “You mean take both of you? At once?” 

Treize’s tongue teased his earlobe. “Yes, both of us. How does that make you feel?” 

I don’t have to pick one of them? He looked up and met Heero’s brilliant blue eyes. The other boy smiled slightly, for him the equivalent of Duo’s broad grin. 

“Like I’ve died and gone to heaven.”


	10. Chapter 10

Treize lifted Duo to his feet. Once again, the force of the boy’s beauty hit him like a gale. He cupped his hand against the pilot’s face, drawing him close so they could kiss. When their mouths fastened on each other, he forgot for a moment that he did this for any reason but his own pleasure. Duo’s arms wrapped around his neck, pulling their bodies close. 

Dear God. Such a sweet, eager little thing. 

Slow and deliberate, he ran his hands over the boy’s arms and back, reaching under the towel to knead the firm muscles of his ass, then back up to his shoulders and arms. Duo shuddered against him, wriggling under his insistent touch. 

Treize glanced at Heero, who watched intently but made no move to assist him. He kissed Duo again, on the mouth, the chin, bent over to kiss his neck, lick at the spot just under his ear at the edge of his hairline. The boy whimpered as Treize’s tongue drew delicate circles over his skin. Treize lifted his head to look at Heero once more. The other pilot’s chest rose and fell with his rapid breath, and a thin sheen of perspiration slicked his upper lip, but still he kept his distance. 

You like watching me tease him, don’t you? Do you realize I’m teasing you, too? 

Treize led Duo to the bed and laid him back against the pillows. Slowly, he unwrapped the towel from the slender waist. He trailed his fingers lightly along Duo’s torso from his collarbone to his navel, then stood back. Heero made a tentative move toward the bed but checked himself. 

So this isn’t enough to make you join us? You have more control than I thought. But it won’t do you any good. 

Treize carefully unbuttoned his uniform jacket, then peeled off the shirt beneath. With one knee on the bed, he bent over Duo’s supine form, positioning his mouth just above one of the delicate, pink nipples. His practiced tongue bullied the soft flesh, drawing hushed, inarticulate keening from the young man. 

“Louder, pretty one.” Treize rhythmically pinched the swollen nugget until Duo writhed under his hand, then worked its twin to hardness. “Let him hear what your pleasure sounds like.” 

“Treize…ah, please…please…” Duo’s hands scrabbled at the covers as Treize rubbed his nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. 

Heero edged closer each time Duo cried out. He had nearly reached the bed when Treize straightened, leaving Duo panting, eyes closed, legs wide. Treize removed the rest of his clothing, his movements precise yet leisurely. At last, he saw Heero’s interest split between the enticing little form spread before him on the bed and Treize’s powerfully built, naked form. 

I’ve got your attention now, don’t I? 

Treize lay beside Duo. With feather-light fingers, he stroked the young man’s belly and thighs, purposefully refraining from touching the straining, twitching cock. He traced the outline of Duo’s navel with firm swirls of his thumb, each sweep sidling closer to the soft nest of chestnut curls. 

“Treize…touch me, damn it. Touch me…oh god, please…” Duo thrust his hips upward, pleading more desperately as Treize withheld the contact he craved. “Hurts for you not to touch me. Need it, so bad…” 

Do you hear him begging for me, Heero? He slid his fingers through the silken hair that curled around the root of Duo’s penis. You can pretend all you like, but I know what this is doing to you. What he’s doing to you. What I’m doing to you. 

Treize rolled over, covering Duo’s body with his own, briefly letting his partner rub against him. Even that small touch elicited sobs of relief from the young pilot. 

“Oh, shit….please don’t stop. Need to feel you …” 

Duo struggled to pull Treize more firmly on top of him, but Treize gently pushed aside his hands. He allowed the barest touch between them, lightly grinding his hips in a broad circle against the younger man’s pelvis. Duo had to want to be taken, want it so badly that he forgot to be afraid. Treize would not rush him. He had not forgotten how quickly the boy’s desire could evaporate when he felt even the slightest bit forced. 

Judging from his frantic, imploring cries, he had nearly reached the place where his body utterly ruled his mind. Determined to bring him totally into the present, to a place where yearning did not mix with fear, Treize reached down, stroking Duo’s balls with the merest pressure. Duo arched his back, his body bent into a quivering bow. 

A movement at the edge of his vision made Treize look up. Heero tugged off his stolen uniform and flung himself on the bed beside Duo. He stared at his fellow pilot with an undisguised craving, shuddering with restrained need. 

Just a little more. And then you can both have what you need. 

Treize continued to stroke the soft flesh of Duo’s balls, weighing them in his hands. The young man lifted his knees, spread them wide, all the while pleading softly. Treize lowered his hand to stroke Duo’s entrance. Duo mewled but did not pull away, and Treize probed him gently with his finger. He met with no resistance and thrust a little deeper. The pilot rocked his hips against Treize’s hand, sobbing, imploring. 

Treize’s own body responded with an electrifying jolt. Even as he reminded himself that this was not about his own pleasure, he bent his head to Duo’s opening, rimming the edge with his tongue as he pushed upward with his hand. He savored the particular texture of flesh and muscle, the sweet-sour taste, the sight of that tiny pink sphincter stretching around his fingers. 

“Oh god, Treize, don’t stop, I’ll die if you stop.” Duo tossed his head, babbling, almost incoherent with desire. 

A warm pressure against his leg pulled his attention from the frenzied pilot. Heero pressed against him, his eyes closed, his face tight, concentrated. Treize felt the hard strength of the pilot’s body, angular and unrelenting, and he understood the reality of Heero’s fear of hurting Duo. The pilot rubbed himself against Treize’s muscled thigh, silent but no less frantic than the boy who panted beneath him. 

Treize reached his free hand to smooth the jagged, dark edge of Heero’s bangs. It pleased him when the young pilot tilted his head back to receive the caress instead of jerking away, as he had half expected. His features had none of Duo’s openness or generosity, but they had an intense, minimalist beauty of their own, as if some internal fire seared away everything nonessential. 

No wonder Duo wanted him so… 

“Do you feel left out, little one?” Treize slid his fingers out of Duo’s body, took Heero’s arm and guided him closer. “Here. I can share.” 

He lifted Heero’s square, callused hand and pressed it to Duo’s chest. Heero’s hand twitched as it made contact with Duo’s flesh, dark and tan in contrast with the smaller boy’s softer, paler skin. Awkwardly, he did as he’d watched Treize do, moved his hand along the ridges of Duo’s ribcage, obviously struggling to be gentle. 

Duo opened his eyes. 

“Heero.” 

So much longing in that one word. 

Heero shifted himself, leaned down to kiss Duo. At first, they touched hesitantly. Heero reminded Treize of one of his hunting dogs, still on the leash after he had scented their prey, impatient, straining, yet willfully holding back until given permission to run their quarry to earth. Treize stroked the pilot’s hair. 

Time to let him run. 

“Now, Heero. Make him yours.” 

Treize moved away from Duo, feeling the cool air fan his skin where warm flesh had pressed against him a moment ago. A dim sense of loss ached somewhere deep in his belly, but he put it aside, watching the two young men discover each other. 

The kiss deepened. Heero slid his body onto Duo’s, and the smaller boy sighed with relief as their erections touched. The sounds of his contentment appeared to encourage Heero, who began to grind his hips firmly against his partner’s. The Japanese pilot caught Duo’s swollen lip in his teeth, chewed at it and then released it to move his mouth over Duo’s chin, down his neck, then back up the same path to kiss him again. His hands moved up the slight body beneath him, surer now, his fingers plucking at the hard buds of Duo’s nipples. 

Treize watched the contact between the two pilots grow more heated. His body responded with an urgency that startled him as the two young men grappled with each other, a tangle of oak and ivory limbs. Duo’s hands raked Heero’s back as the Wing pilot pressed hard against him and they both sought the solace of friction. Heero’s fingers dug into the soft places of Duo’s body. The long-haired boy cried out, and Treize could not tell if it was in pain or pleasure or some complex fusion of both. 

Heero growled deep in his throat. The sound troubled Treize. Was the boy losing his control? He thought of the fierce strength he’d felt in the young man. It would be so easy for him to hurt Duo. 

Their joining grew more frenetic. Heero pressed Duo’s hands to the bed, his fingers closing around the slim wrists with what had to be bruising strength. Duo eyes flew open, and he looked wildly around him, as if he had forgotten where he was. His arms and legs stiffened as he tried to pull away from Heero’s onslaught. 

No, Heero, stop. You’re frightening him. 

Treize reached out to Heero, seized the narrow, thrusting hips with enough strength to distract the pilot. Heero turned away from Duo, snarling at the man who’d interrupted his pleasure. Treize glared at him, shaking his head. Heero glanced down at the slender figure panting under him. He took a shuddering breath, then raised pleading eyes to Treize. 

I won’t let you hurt him, Heero. It’s all right. Trust me if you can’t trust yourself. 

Still with his hands on Heero’s hips, Treize showed him the pressure and rhythm that would excite both of them without making Duo retreat into the nightmare of his memories. As Heero accepted his guidance, Treize’s hand wandered a little, over the bony ridge of the boy’s hip and the flat, hard muscles of his stomach, down the front of his lean thighs. Over Heero’s shoulder, he watched the fear drain from Duo’s face, heard pleasure return to his soft cries. 

Heero pressed against Duo, lay chest-to-chest with him. The smaller boy wrapped his arms around his lover’s torso, nuzzled his cheek against his shoulder. Heero looked down at the face only inches from his own, lifted a finger to trace lips, eyelids, nose, and an expression of wonder flushed his own features. Treize smiled with understanding; he’d felt the same awe himself. 

Treize took a bottle of oil from a bedside table and poured it into his hand. He slid his hand between Heero’s thighs, smoothed the oil over the pilot’s thick, smooth cock. Heero bucked as Treize stroked him, snarling in frustration as he controlled his desire. Treize slowly smeared more of the oil over Heero’s flesh, both to make his entry easier for Duo and to savor the feel of the hot, twitching rod in his own hand. Heero’s thrashing reverberated through Treize’s body to settle into a solid ache between his thighs. 

He poured more oil and prepared Duo’s entrance to receive his lover. That, too, was a task he relished, and he completed it with deliberate precision. Without speaking, he guided Heero, positioning him carefully. The Japanese pilot shook with need, but he allowed Treize to direct him. 

Ah, Heero. It’s worth holding yourself back a little to be able to claim the gifts he can give. 

Duo tensed at first, but Heero pushed slowly into his body, moving with the cadence Treize set for him. The Colonel watched the pale boy on the pillows for any signs of pain, but the look on his face was more akin to rapture than agony. Eyes half-closed, a little, pink tongue wetting his lips, he clung to Heero, his hands roaming over the other boy’s lean, brown body. 

It’s sweet to watch his pleasure…to watch both of them. For a moment, Treize wildly thought what it would be like to keep them both, to watch them make love to each other every night, to instruct them in the art of passion. He clenched his fists against the shock of excitement that ran riot through his body. 

You’re a fool, an idiot. This is not for you. Don’t forget the world that exists beyond this bed. 

The forms of the two boys, lost in their own enjoyment of each other, blurred. Treize leaned back. Heero no longer needed him. He worked Duo, if not gently, at least without violence, taking care that his partner experienced satisfaction. And Duo had, finally, what he wished for. 

Treize began to move away from the coupling boys, loathe to disturb their joy yet unable to observe it any longer. He slipped from his position behind Heero, preparing to ease himself off the bed—although where he would go when he left them, he had no idea—when a tiny, distressed moue drew his gaze back to Duo’s flushed face. 

“Treize?” Duo held out his hand. “Don’t go.” 

Treize hesitated, then clasped the long, white fingers. “It’s all right, pretty one. I won’t leave you.” 

Duo smiled even as he groaned in delight as Heero’s thrusts stroked him. Nearly breathless, he said, “Not scared…just want you here.” 

He tugged on Treize’s hand, making the older man lean down. His other hand snaked behind Treize’s head, pulling him close enough to kiss. The boy’s swollen lips nursed at his own, the quick, little tongue darting into his mouth. He felt Heero’s hand tangle in the back of his hair, stroke the nape of his neck. Duo’s kiss grew more insistent, and Treize responded, his own   
tongue expertly caressing the young man’s mouth. 

Treize, still captured by the boys’ attentions, slid his hand down Duo’s chest, his belly, wrapped his fingers around the heated pillar of the boy’s cock. In concert with Heero’s thrusts, he caressed smooth flesh, slick with Duo’s moisture. He swallowed the little pilot’s intoxicating squeals, felt the echo of Heero’s rhythm as Duo’s mouth rocked against his. 

Heero’s hand tightened around a fistful of Treize’s hair. With a throaty growl, he drove deeply into Duo’s body, and Treize felt his climax almost as though it were his own. He pulled away from Duo’s lips, listening for the sobbing breaths that told him this pilot, too, was near to coming. Even as Heero pumped his seed into his lover’s body, Treize brought the other boy to his summit. With a sharp cry, Duo came, his warm essence spattering all three of their bodies. 

Both boys lay motionless, eyes closed, still gasping for breath. Treize smiled at the picture the two of them made, curled around each other like young animals in a nest. He pushed Duo’s damp hair off the boy’s face, earning him a tired, contented smile and a brief nuzzle against his hand. Heero wormed closer to the warmth of his lover’s body, his hand groping blindly for   
the other boy, drawing him closer. A soft chuckle escaped Treize. I never would have suspected that Heero likes to cuddle. 

Treize eased himself off the bed. This time, neither boy seemed to notice, lost as they were in the glowing afterburn of their lovemaking. But just as he was about to move away, Duo half-opened his eyes and caught Treize’s arm. 

“Where’re you going? You keep trying to leave.” 

He tried to free himself, but the boy clung tightly. “Duo, you have to let go.” 

Duo’s voice sounded fierce, possessive. “Not yet, I don’t.” 

“Duo…” 

“Hn.” Heero leaned up on one elbow and touched Treize’s hip. “I thought you said we had until dark.” 

“So I did.” Two pairs of eyes watched him, eager and imploring and perhaps still a little frightened. 

Duo tugged on his arm. “C’mon. Stay for a while. Please?” 

Who could possibly resist those eyes? Treize smiled and combed Duo’s bangs with his fingers. “As you wish, pretty one.” 

Four hands drew him back to the bed. Two warm mouths fastened on his body, demanding as hungry kittens. Two lean bodies pressed against him, one on each side, twin heated columns rubbing against his thighs. Treize groaned and reached for the two young men. 

Duo rested his cheek against Treize’s, his hair draping over them, his lips against Treize’s ear. “Let us, Treize. We both owe you, and…and we want to. Please?” 

“Duo…ahhhh.” Treize gasped as Heero’s teeth nipped at a sensitive patch of skin. “It seems… I’m at your mercy.” 

“Uh-huh.” Duo kissed the tip of the OZ commander’s nose. “So you may as well not fight us. You won’t win.” 

He’s right. I can’t beat them. And I don’t want to. 

Treize quit fighting. 

***** 

Heero adjusted the gun on the belt of his stolen uniform. He hoped they wouldn’t need it, but nothing on this mission had gone quite the way anyone planned. He stole a look at Duo, nodded with approval as the other pilot concealed his own weapon under the disguise of his coveralls. 

“Are you ready?” 

Treize’s voice drew Heero’s attention away from the willowy boy fastening his clothing. 

“Nearly.” Heero met the Colonel’s clear blue eyes. “Have you cleared us for takeoff?” 

“Yes. Report to gate C-8. Your shuttle will be waiting.” 

Duo looked up. “You aren’t coming to the gate with us?” 

Treize and Heero exchanged glances. “No. It will be safer for you if I don’t.” 

Intent, Heero watched Duo’s face. A tiny tremor worked across the braided pilot’s lip as Treize’s statement registered. 

“But Treize…” 

His voice cool, Treize cut off the pilot’s protest. “Duo, a soldier doesn’t question orders.” 

“Treize?” Duo blinked rapidly, his violet eyes shining suspiciously. “But…but we might not see you again.” 

“No, I don’t imagine that you will.” Treize turned away, ostensibly to pick up his gloves, but Heero caught the look of pain in the man’s eyes. “I hope that we don’t. We would be enemies.” The cool, patrician voiced quaked so slightly Heero thought he might have imagined it, had it not been for those anguished eyes. “I don’t want to be your enemy, Duo.” 

“I don’t want to be yours, either.” Duo stared at the floor. Kicking at the pattern of the rug, he muttered, “War sucks.” 

His back still to Duo, Treize slowly pulled on his gloves without a word. Duo’s jaw set stubbornly, and Heero thought that he looked like a child who’s been told he can’t have the one toy he wants. He almost expected the pilot to stomp his feet in a display of temper. 

The older man turned and smiled, finally, gently lifting Duo’s chin. Before the boy could protest, Treize kissed him. At first, Duo resisted angrily, but Treize pulled him closer, and he surrendered, flinging his arms around the tall man with a poignant cry. The kiss lengthened, but when Duo trembled, Treize broke away. Briefly, he touched a long chestnut strand that escaped from   
the confines of the boy’s braid. 

“Good-bye, Duo.” 

Ducking his head so that his heavy bangs hid his face, Duo whispered, “Good-bye, Treize.” 

Heero felt skewered between the misery of these two, felt the resonance of their kiss in the core of his own being, a sad, bright echo of something that might have been. But he could do nothing for either of them. The only cures he knew for that sort of hurt were action—and time. He opened the door to Treize’s private exit. 

“Duo. It’s time to go.” 

Without looking up, Duo nodded. 

Heero glanced back at Treize, who stood in the open doorway that led to his office. 

“Thank you.” 

The Colonel accepted Heero’s thanks with a slight bow. “And you, as well.” An enigmatic smile softened the sadness in his eyes. “Heero, one last bit of advice…” 

“What’s that?” 

“Don’t be afraid to tell him.” 

Tell him? “What…?” 

“Never mind. You must go now.” 

Duo slipped into the half-dark of the corridor without a word to either man. At the mouth of the exit, Heero paused. After a moment’s hesitation, he met the Colonel’s ice-blue eyes. Straightening his back, he raised his hand and saluted the man who was his greatest enemy. 

***** 

The house was dark when Duo and Heero arrived. Duo stretched, scratching his head. 

“Doesn’t look like anyone’s awake.” 

Heero unlocked the door and they went inside. A solitary light burned in the kitchen. 

“That’s strange,” Duo said. 

Heero nodded. “Wait here. I’ll see what’s up.” 

Duo looked around the entry, surprised that everything should look the same as when he left. Well, hell, it’s only been two days. What’d you expect? 

Two days. How was it possible? In two days, everything had changed. Nothing would ever be the same again. He heard Heero in the kitchen. I hope things have changed, anyway. 

The light in the kitchen snapped off, and Heero came back to the entry. “Quatre left a note. Wufei’s on a mission, and Trowa and Quatre drove him to pick up Nataku.” He ripped the paper into tiny fragments. “He shouldn’t write things like that on paper and leave them lying around. It’s dangerous.” 

“Yeah.” Back in the house, Duo felt awkward again. The last two days had been full of intensity, and all of them had operated in a continuous adrenalin rush. Now, normalcy—or at least what passed for normal in lives like theirs—closed back in on them. 

“Duo?” 

“Huh?” 

“You okay? You aren’t saying much.” 

In the dark hallway, Heero’s eyes looked like inky pools. Duo swallowed. Now what? He goes to his room and I go to mine? He started to climb the stairs. 

“Whatcha want me to talk about?” 

He stood with his hand on the railing, holding his breath so he wouldn’t miss Heero’s answer. Suddenly, a warm, callused hand covered his. 

“I don’t really want you to talk, Duo.” Heero played with his braid, lifted it, kissed the back of Duo’s neck. “But I’d like it if you listened for a minute. Now, before we go up to our room.” 

Our room? “I-I’m listening.” 

“Treize and I talked while you were in the shower.” 

“Well, yeah, I figured that out.” 

Heero laughed quietly. “No, not just about that. He…he told me you’d met before.” 

Duo turned, his eyes wide. “Huh? You’re kidding! But…” 

Heero stopped him, laying a finger on his lips. “Just listen. He told me that you didn’t lead the OZ soldiers to the safe house that night. He said he had no idea you were a Gundam pilot until they captured you.” 

Duo nodded. “He didn’t. I never told him my name—and he didn’t tell me his.” 

“I know. It wasn’t you at all, Duo. It was me.” 

Him? I don’t get this… “What are you talking about?” 

“OZ traced me when I hacked into their network. I thought I’d covered myself, but I didn’t. It was my fault.” 

“Oh.” What do I say now? 

“I blamed you. I was wrong. And then I didn’t trust you to handle this mission. I put you in danger because I didn’t think I could make a mistake, and I’m sorry.” 

“Oh,” Duo repeated, feeling like more of an idiot than usual. “It all turned out okay, though.” 

He blushed, thinking of the results of Heero’s interference. 

Heero reached for Duo’s hand. “And there’s one more thing.” 

Now what? I don’t think I can take one more thing. “Yeah?” 

“Just before we left, Treize gave me some advice. I didn’t know what he meant. But I thought about it on the shuttle. And now I understand.” 

The only light in the entryway came from the moon, nearly full, high and clear in the winter sky. In the silver-blue light, Heero looked like a wraith, insubstantial, unreal. Maybe none of this has been real. Maybe it’s all been a dream… 

Ink-dark eyes peered at him from the half-shadows. “I love you, Duo.” 

“H-Heero?” 

A pair of strong arms wrapped around him. “I know that Treize meant something to you. I-I’ll try not to be jealous. I…Duo?” 

Duo hid his face against Heero’s shoulder. His eyes burned and he choked back a noise that would have sounded suspiciously like a sob. 

“Duo, you’re crying.” 

“Am not.” 

“I thought you never lied.” He could hear the smile in Heero’s voice. “What’s wrong?” 

Duo took a shuddering breath. “When we said goodbye…Heero, it’s like he’s two people in the same body, and I-I...” And I think I fell in love with both of them. 

But he couldn’t tell that to Heero, not when the stoic pilot had just said the very thing Duo swore he’d sell his soul to hear. So he just stood silent for a long time, clinging to Heero in the moonlight. The other boy seemed satisfied to hold him, petting his hair gently, his arms a welcome shelter. 

Can I love two of you? Is that all right? Because I do… 

Heero rested his cheek against Duo’s hair. When he spoke, it was with a different voice, almost soft, full of understanding. 

“Duo?” 

“Hm?” 

“It’s okay. I won’t forget about him, either.” 

Duo burrowed his forehead against Heero’s shoulder. “I hope he gets as lucky as I did.” 

Heero lightly fingered the bruise on Duo’s cheek, a shadow on his pale skin deeper than the other shadows. “You have a funny way of defining luck.” 

Duo ran his fingers through Heero’s tousled hair. “Luck is where you find it.” He grinned at the Japanese pilot, wondering if the soft sheen over those inky eyes was a trick of the quicksilver light. 

They kissed, gentle and sweet at first, then with all the heat of desire. 

The night surrounded them, two boys who’d dared to play with the most dangerous fire of all. In the pale moonlight, war faded to nothingness, pain and death receded into darkness. They huddled around the blaze of their shared passion, no longer fearing what the flames might illuminate, content in the warmth they gave one another.


End file.
